UC-NRLF 


135    515 


IW-CHAILLU 


i  UBtAff  \ 


tf. 


King  Mombo 


"These   .   .   .  inquired  if  we  wanted  to  barter  for 
ivory  with  them  " 


King    Mombo 


By 
Paul   Du   Chaillu 


Author  of  "The  World  of  the  Great  Forest,"   "  The  Viking  Age,"    "The 

Land  of  the  Long  Night,"    "Ivar  the  Viking,"    "The   Land  of  the 

Midnight  Sun,"  "  Explorations  in  Equatorial  Africa,"  "  Stories 

of  the  Gorilla  Country,"  "Wild  Life  under  the  Equator," 

"Lost  in  the  Jungle,"    "My  Apingi  Kingdom," 

"  The  Country  of  the  Dwarfs,"  etc.,  etc. 


Illustrated  by  Victor  Perard 


New  York 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons 

1902 


Copyright,  1902 
BY  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Published,  September, 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS     •    JOHN  WILSON 
AND     SON      •      CAMBRIDGE,     U.  S.  A. 


?27 


i . 

ro 

SOLOMON  SOUS   COHEN,  M.D. 

Philadelphia 

MT  DEAR  SOLIS, —  Looking  back  through  the  vista  of  years,  and 
remembering  your  solicitude  when  I  came  to  you  broken  in  health, 
and  the  care,  professional  and  other,  through  which  your  affection  and 
skill  restored  me  to  health  and  permitted  the  resumption  of  my  literary 
labors,  my  heart  overflows.  I  take  great  pleasure  in  dedicating  this 
volume  to  you  as  a  partial  evidence  of  the  gratitude  and  brotherly 
affection  of 

Ever  your  flrm  friend, 

PAUL    DU  CHAILLU. 

New  York,  "June  /<?, 


101 


Letter  of  Friend  Paul  to  the 
Young  Folks 

MY  DEAR  YOUNG  FOLKS, —  In  writing  the  books 
I  have  written  for  you  in  years  past  I  left 
untold  many  of  the  adventures  that  happened  to 
me  in  the  great  African  forest,  either  with  the  wild 
men  and  savage  tribes  I  encountered  or  in  hunting 
the  wild  beasts.  I  could  write  many  more  volumes 
upon  these  subjects,  and  still  there  would  be  much  left 
unsaid. 

"  Stories  of  the  Gorilla  Country,"  "  Lost  in  the 
Jungle,"  "Wild  Life  under  the  Equator,"  "My 
Apingi  Kingdom,"  "The  Country  of  the  Dwarfs," 
did  not  tell  all  I  saw  or  all  that  happened  to  me 
during  the  many  years  of  my  African  life. 

I  am  to  travel  in  Russia,  and  I  have  put  into  the 
hands  of  my  friends  and  publishers,  Messrs.  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  the  manuscripts  of  two  further  books 
I  have  written  for  you,  telling  more  of  my  adventures 
in  the  Great  Forest.  These  two  volumes,  of  which 
"  King  Mombo  "  is  the  first,  will  be  published  during 
my  absence,  and  will  be  companions  to  "The  Land 
of  the  Long  Night "  and  "  The  World  of  the  Great 
Forest." 

In  the  meantime  I  say  good-by.     Do  not  forget 

FRIEND  PAUL. 


Contents 


CHAPTER   I 

PAGE 

I  leave  New  York  for  Africa  —  Narrow  quarters  on  the  schooner 
—  Our  cargo  —  Out  of  sight  of  land  —  The  sea  and  all  that 
therein  is  —  A  storm  brewing I 

CHAPTER   II 

A  storm  at  sea  —  A  tempest-tossed  little    bird  —  Fine  weather 

again  —  Fight  between  a  sword-fish  and  a  whale   .     .     .     .      I  o 

CHAPTER   III 

The  Sargasso  Sea  —  The  northeast  trade-winds  —  Dolphins  and 

bonitas  —  New  stars  come  into  view 17 

CHAPTER   IV 

The  "Doldrums" — Fierce  heat  of  the  sun  —  Strong  local 
currents  —  The  southwest  trade-winds  —  Huge  sharks  all 
around  us 22 


CHAPTER   V 

Crossing  the  equator  —  The  southeast  trade- winds  —  The  equa- 
torial current  —  The  Gulf  Stream  —  Struck  by  a  tornado — 
Land  in  sight  —  Africa  at  last  —  The  great  forest  ...  28 

ix 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER   VI 

PAGE 

Wandering  through  the  forest  and  learning  the  country  —  I  reach 

King  Mombo's  village  —  Received  by  the  king  —  His  fear 
of  witchcraft  —  Visits  my  dwelling  and  receives  presents 
from  me 35 

CHAPTER   VII 

Superstitions  of  King  Mombo  —  Visits  to  the  house  of  his  idols 
and  his  ancestors  —  A  strange  meal  followed  by  a  strange 
dance 41 

CHAPTER   VIII 

Bad  luck  of  Mombo's  village  —  Ascribed  to  witchcraft — Arrival 
of  a  great  medicine  man  —  His  incantations  —  The  accused 
sold  as  slaves 50 

CHAPTER   IX 

King  Mombo  gives  me  the  stick  "  Omemba  "  —  I  leave  the 
village  on  a  hunting  trip  —  Parting  injunctions  —  A  herd  of 
hippopotami 55 

CHAPTER   X 

Sounds  of  human  voices  —  I  encounter  Regundo  and  his  wife, 
slaves  of  King  Mombo  —  Other  slaves  —  Hunters  and 
warriors  of  Mombo 63 

CHAPTER   XI 

Wonder  of  the  natives  at  my  Waterbury  clock,  magnet,  matches, 

and  music-box  —  Character  of  Mombo's  plantation  ...        72 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER   XII 

PAGE 

King  Mombo's  plantation  —  Work  of  the  slaves  in  clearing  and 
cultivating  the  forest  —  Strange  village  of  the  slaves  — 
Houses  of  the  spirits  —  Regundo's  account  of  witchcraft 

and  its  punishment  —  Ovengua 79 

/ 

CHAPTER   XIII 

The  native  dogs  —  How  they  hunt  their  own  game  when  they 
are  not  fed — Their  ways  of  attack  —  Their  usefulness  to 
their  masters  in  war  time — Oshoria's  story 87 

CHAPTER   XIV 

A  great  hunting- feast —  "  Roondah  "  —  Different  viands  of  the 
menu  —  Speeches  at  the  banquet  —  Music  and  dancing  — 
A  weird  forest  scene  in  the  torchlight 95 

CHAPTER   XV 

A  talk  with  King  Mombo's  slaves  —  Why  slaves  do  not  run 
away  —  Various  features  of  the  traffic  —  The  cannibals  of 
the  interior  —  My  daily  occupations 1 04 

CHAPTER   XVI 

The  animals  of  the  forest  —  Five  kinds  of  apes  —  The  ngina  or 
gorilla  —  His  great  strength  and  fierceness  —  How  he 
attacks  man  and  other  animals  —  Oshoria's  account  of  him  116 

CHAPTER   XVII 

The  other  apes  of  the  great  forest  —  Oshoria  tells  about  the 
nshiego  mbouves  —  Capture  of  a  baby  "  man  of  the  woods  " 
—  His  mother  killed  —  Correspondence  of  the  different 

apes  with  the  various  human  races 124 

xi 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER   XVIII 

PAGE 

Angooka,  the  medicine  man  —  His  strange  appearance  —  Eaves- 
dropping—  I  overhear  the  conversation  of  the  slaves  — 
They  talk  among  themselves  about  the  Oguizi  .  .  .  .  131 

CHAPTER   XIX 

News  brought  that  gorillas  are  near  by  in  the  forest  —  The  dogs 
got  ready  for  the  hunt  —  Their  names  —  A  grand  hunting 
council  —  Regundo'  s  wise  advice  —  Cautions  to  be  observed  134 

CHAPTER    XX 

We  start  after  the  gorillas  —  Cautious  walking  through  the  forest 
—  The  dogs  find  the  ngina  —  Yells  of  the  monster  brought 
to  bay  —  He  slaughters  two  of  the  dogs — Taunts  of  the 
hunters  • — Shot  through  the  heart  at  last 142 

CHAPTER   XXI 

Singular  sight  in  the  forest  —  All  kinds  of  animals  fleeing  in  one 
direction  —  A  terrible  ant  —  The  bashikouay  army  —  At- 
tacked everywhere  at  once  —  How  I  escaped  the  tormentors  153 

CHAPTER   XXII 

A  journey  to  the  elephant  country  —  Serious  annoyance  from 
flies,  wasps,  and  mosquitoes  —  In  the  midst  of  a  drove  of 
hippopotami 158 

CHAPTER   XXIII 

Mudbanks  covered  with  crocodiles  —  How  they  stalk  their 
prey  —  An  unsuspecting  boar  suddenly  swallowed  up  — 

Habits  of  the  huge  creatures 164 

xii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   XXIV 

PAGE 

Difficulty  of  making  our  way  —  Fallen  trees  and  dense  thickets 
—  Our  meat  gives  out  —  Looking  for  koola  trees  —  A 
meal  of  their  nutritious  nuts  —  Their  importance  to  the 
traveller  in  the  forest 171 

CHAPTER   XXV 

Lost  in  the  forest  —  A  herd  of  elephants  lures  me  on  —  Separ- 
ated from  my  hunters — Two  nights  on  the  ground  and  one 
in  a  tree  —  Found  at  last — Joy  of  the  men  .  .  .  .  178 

CHAPTER   XXVI 

The  elephant  hunting-ground  —  The  beautiful  prairie  skirting 
the  forest — The  welcome  sky  and  sun  and  stars  after  the 
forest  gloom  —  Hunting  elephants  by  moonlight  —  Three 
large  herds  —  Narrow  escape  of  Oshoria  and  myself — 
Death  of  the  huge  tusker 193 

CHAPTER   XXVII 

The  killing  of  a  second  elephant  —  How  bull  elephants  fight  — 
The  contest  for  the  leadership  of  the  herd  —  Oshoria' s 
graphic  account  of  a  battle  royal  witnessed  by  him  —  Return 
to  the  plantation 206 

CHAPTER   XXVIII 

Departure  from  the  slaves'  plantations  —  Arrival  at  King  Mom- 
bo's —  A  warm  greeting  from  the  old  king  —  His  sacred 
promise  never  to  part  with  his  slaves  —  Farewell  to  him  and 
his  people 214 


xiu 


List  of  Illustrations 


"  These  .   .    .   inquired  if  we  wanted  to  barter  for  ivory  with 

them  '  * Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGB 

In  the  cabin  of  the  schooner 2 

"  The  captain  shouted  to  me  :  *  A  swordnsh  is  righting  a 

whale '" •  /  -  -  14 

"  When  he  saw  these  presents  his  face  beamed  with  joy  "  .  .  38 

"The  king  and  I  sat  down  opposite  each  other"  ....  48 

"Then  he  handed  me  'Omemba'  " 59 

"  The  voices  came  nearer  and  I  saw  a  large  canoe  "  .  .  .  60 

"He  had  a  very  determined  face  " 68 

"  Then  came  a  profound  silence.  I  lighted  another  match  "  .  76 
"Just  in  time  to  see  a  huge  male  leopard  spring  upon  one  of  the 

dogs" .  .  92 

"  The  women  were  preparing  food  "  .......  96 

"The  first  musician  played  on  a  <  handja  '  ;  102 

' '  A  big  fellow,  tall  and  slender,  rose.  He  was  tattooed  all 

over " no 

"  A  little  before  dark  she  goes  up  a  tree  with  the  baby  to  sleep  "  1 20 

"  Sometimes  he  suddenly  gets  up  and  charges'*  .  ,  .  .  140 
"  The  big  monster  .  .  .  seized  '  Bloodthirsty  '  and  threw  him 

dead  on  the  ground  " 150 

"  Their  big,  ugly  mouths  when  opened,  showed  us  their  tusks  "  162 

xv 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING   PAGE 


"  We  dragged  the  board  with  the  crocodile  upon  it  into  the 

water"        .      .      .      .      .      ....      .     .      .      .  .  168 

"I  pointed  out  the  footprints  to  them"   .      .      .     ..      .      .  .  174 

"With  some  hesitation  I  crept  upon  the  transverse  limb"  .  .  188 

"I  distinguished  a  huge  bull  which  was  leading  them"  .      ,  .  198 

"The  two  enormous  tusks  went  through  his  side  "  .      .      .  .  212 

"I  stood  up  and  held  '  Omemba*  in  my  right  hand"  .      .  .  218 

"My  hunters  .  .  .  fell  at  my  feet  and  clasped  them"       .  .  224 


xvi 


KING    MOMBO 


CHAPTER    I 

I  LEAVE  NEW  YORK  FOR  AFRICA  —  NARROW  QUARTERS 
ON  THE  SCHOONER  —  OUR  CARGO  —  OUT  OF  SIGHT 
OF  LAND  — THE  SEA  AND  ALL  THAT  THEREIN  IS  — 
A  STORM  BREWING. 

ONE  summer  morning  I  found  myself  on  board 
a  small  schooner  lying  at  anchor  in  the  beau- 
tiful bay  of  New  York.  This  little  vessel,  though  so 
small,  was  large  enough  to  sail  safely  across  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  to  which  part  of  the 
world  we  were  bound. 

On  account  of  the  small  size  of  the  schooner,  the 
accommodations  on  board  were  not  very  comfortable. 
The  tiny  cabin  had  three  narrow  bunks  —  one  for  the 
captain,  another  for  the  mate,  the  third  for  myself.  A 
little  cupboard,  containing  the  plates,  glasses,  forks, 
spoons,  knives,  etc.,  secured  against  the  rolling  of  the 
ship,  was  near  one  of  the  bunks. 

A  small  table  upon  which  our  meals  were  served 
stood  in  the  centre,  and  was  the  only  piece  of  fur- 
niture we  had,  for  box-like  benches  along  the  bunks 


KING    MOMBO 

were  our  seats,  and  these  were  also  used  as  places  of 
storage  for  different  things  that  had  to  be  handy. 
Besides  these  there  was  a  medicine  chest. 

The  only  place  where  one  could  stand  upright  was 
under  the  skylight.  Our  toilet  or  the  washing  of  our 
faces  and  hands  took  place  on  deck,  and  when  it  was 
raining  or  stormy  the  tin  wash-basin  had  to  be  used 
in  the  cabin,  though  we  tried  to  avoid  this  as  much 
as  possible,  it  made  such  a  mess. 

The  forecastle  had  accommodation  for  the  crew  of 
four  sailors  and  the  cook  —  the  latter  being  also  the 
steward,  and  having  therefore  to  set  the  table,  serve 
the  meals,  wash  the  dishes,  towels,  and  napkins,  and 
attend  to  our  bunks. 

On  the  deck  stood  the  galley  or  kitchen,  close  by, 
a  large  cask  containing  fresh  water,  with  a  dipper. 
Some  other  casks  were  safely  stored  in  the  hold. 
These  contained  water,  to  us  more  precious  than 
gold,  for  what  would  gold  have  availed  us  if  we 
had  had  no  water  to  drink? 

Our  cargo  was  composed  of  many  things,  such  as 
brass  kettles,  guns,  small  kegs  of  powder,  brass  rods, 
looking-glasses,  files,  knives,  plates,  and  a  great  num- 
ber of  beads  of  all  sizes  and  colors,  bright  colored  cot- 
ton umbrellas,  coats  of  gaudy  hues,  each  coat  having 
sleeves  and  backs  of  different  tints,  brilliant  colored 


In  the  cabin  of  the  schooner 


KING   MOMBO 

waistcoats  and  many  other  objects.  All  these  were  to 
buy  for  me  the  right  of  way  with  the  African  kings, 
or  to  give  away  to  the  natives,  or  pay  for  food  or  pay 
my  porters. 

When  the  tide  served  for  our  departure  the  captain 
gave  the  order  to  unfurl  the  sails  and  raise  the  anchor. 
Our  ship  then  glided  out  into  the  bay,  passed  through 
the  Narrows  and  breasted  the  broad  Atlantic.  When 
we  began  to  lose  sight  of  land,  strange  sensations  crept 
over  me.  Before  me  was  the  bright  future,  the  great 
African  forest  with  its  tribes  of  wild  men,  strange 
beasts,  birds,  and  insects.  Looming  above  these  was 
the  wonderful  unknown,  so  fascinating  to  me  and  to 
all  men,  especially  to  lads.  Behind  me  were  those  I 
had  left,  who  were  dear  to  me,  and  to  them  I  whispered 
a  silent  farewell,  telling  them  that  I  would  continue  to 
love  them  and  that  I  would  never  forget  them.  That 
evening  with  conflicting  emotions,  and  a  sad  heart  I 
fell  asleep. 

The  following  morning  when  I  came  on  deck  there 
was  no  land  to  be  seen.  The  sea  with  its  apparently 
boundless  horizon  surrounded  our  little  ship.  Long 
heaving  swells  rose  one  after  another,  and  with  great 
wonder  my  eyes  followed  them  until  they  faded  away 
in  the  distance.  It  seemed  as  if  some  great  unseen 
giant  were  asleep  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  that 

3 


KING    MOMBO 

his  breathing  caused  this  up-heaving  of  the  ocean  into 
these  long  swells. 

Gulls  were  our  only  companions,  and  followed  our 
little  ship  ;  they  seemed  to  fly  without  any  effort  what- 
ever, their  spread  wings  remaining  perfectly  still  for 
minutes  at  a  time.  As  I  watched  them,  I  said  musingly : 
"  Dear  harmless  gulls,  where  is  your  home  ? "  And 
it  seemed  to  me  that  they  answered :  "  We  have  no 
home ;  we  wander  far  and  wide  over  the  ocean,  which 
gives  us  our  food.  We  rest  on  the  waves  now  and 
then,  we  care  not  for  wind  and  storms.  We  often 
follow  ships,  —  watching  for  things  thrown  over- 
board. But  every  year  we  go  to  the  sea  cliffs  to  lay 
our  eggs,  and  take  care  of  our  young.  Then  we  are 
a  great  throng  together.1 ' 

I  thought  of  the  many  birds  of  the  sea,  and  of  the 
giant  albatross,  closely  allied  to  the  gulls  —  the  largest 
and  strongest  of  all  sea-birds,  measuring  sometimes 
sixteen  and  seventeen  feet  between  the  tips  of  their 
extended  wings. 

My  mind  was  full  of  reflections  as  I  was  looking  at 
the  sea,  and  I  said  to  myself:  "  How  apparently  bound- 
less is  this  great  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  how  wonderful  ! 
In  the  far  north  a  gigantic  barrier  of  ice  prevents  the 
mariner  with  his  ship  from  reaching  the  North  Pole." 
And  I  thought  of  all  the  heroes  who  had  made  the 

4 


KING    MOMBO 

attempt  in  vain.  In  the  far  south  a  still  more  forbid- 
ding and  more  extended  wall  of  ice  prevents  the 
mariner  also  from  reaching  the  South  Pole.  I  thought 
of  the  white  bears,  the  sea-lions,  the  walrus.  I  thought 
of  the  Esquimaux,  of  his  dogs,  of  his  kayak  or  skin 
canoe,  and  wondered  how  men  could  choose  such 
regions  to  live  in ;  for  life,  there,  is  a  battle  all  the 
time;  dangers  meet  man  on  every  side.  The  elements 
and  the  country  are  against  him  ;  but  in  spite  of  all 
that,  the  Esquimaux  loves  the  dreary  ice  and  barren 
rocks  where  he  was  born. 

How  strange,  I  thought,  that  no  inhabitant  had 
been  found  in  the  southern  polar  regions,  and  that  no 
bears  had  ever  been  discovered  there  ;  and  how  won- 
derful it  was  that  at  the  poles,  the  sun  was  in  sight  for 
six  months,  and  remained  unseen  during  the  six  other 
months  of  the  year,  so  that  a  day  of  light  and  a  day 
of  darkness  made  one  year.  When  the  sun  shone 
at  the  North  Pole,  it  was  dark  at  the  South  Pole,  and 
vice  versa. 

I  could  not  help  it,  but  the  view  of  the  great  ocean 
that  surrounded  us  set  me  continually  thinking  that 
day.  I  wondered  at  the  great  depth  of  the  sea,  and 
that  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  even  deeper  than  the  Atlan- 
tic —  the  former  in  some  places  having  been  found  to 
be  thirty  thousand  feet  deep,  and  in  a  number  of  places 

5 


KING   MOMBO 

the  lead  having  failed  to  reach  the  bottom.  The  pres- 
sure of  the  water  is  so  great  that  often  the  wire  hold- 
ing the  lead  breaks  before  reaching  such  great  depths  ; 
but  if  our  eyes  could  pierce  through  this  immense 
mass  of  water,  we  should  see  that  the  configuration 
of  land  at  the  bottom  of  the  oceans  is  very  much 
like  that  of  the  earth  above  the  sea.  We  should 
behold  high  mountains,  deep  ravines,  and  precipices, 
and  large  plains  or  plateaux,  and  see  that  in  some 
places  the  bottom  of  the  sea  is  changing  constantly, 
owing  to  drifting  deposits.  These  have  been  re- 
vealed to  us  by  soundings. 

Strange  to  say,  under  that  great  mass  of  water,  as 
upon  the  land,  sudden  volcanic  eruptions  take  place 
which  cause  islands  to  rise  high  above  the  sea  and  to 
disappear  again.  Many  islands  to  this  day  have  re- 
mained as  witnesses  of  these  volcanic  eruptions,  and  be- 
come, in  the  course  of  ages,  covered  with  forests  and 
other  vegetation,  and  are  now  inhabited  by  man. 

There  is  about  three  times  as  much  sea  as  there  is 
land ;  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  sea  bringing  moisture, 
neither  tree,  beast,  nor  man  could  live  on  the  earth. 
Though  the  oceans  bear  different  names,  they  all  com- 
municate with  each  other. 

Then  I  thought  of  the  rain,  and  all  the  rivers 
pouring  their  waters  into  the  sea,  and  I  wondered  why 

6 


KING    MOMBO 

the  sea  did  not  get  higher,  and,  in  the  course  of  time, 
overflow  the  land.  It  is  because  of  the  evaporation 
of  the  water.  Do  we  not  see,  every  morning,  the  dew- 
drops  glitter  in  the  sun  and  then  disappear  ?  They 
have  evaporated,  and  gone  back  to  help  form  the 
clouds,  as  well  as  the  sea. 

Then  I  thought  of  the  whales,  and  of  their  huge 
size ;  that  on  land  the  elephant  was  the  largest  animal, 
and  that  in  the  sea  the  whale  was  the  largest  creature ; 
and  that,  though  the  whale  was  so  much  larger  that 
in  the  comparison  the  elephant  was  but  a  pigmy,  yet 
the  home  of  the  whale  is  correspondingly  greater  than 
that  of  the  elephant. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  whales.  The  Arctic 
and  Greenland  whale  is  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in 
length.  Its  enormous  head  is  a  third  of  the  whole 
creature.  There  is  also  a  species  of  whale  which 
attains  a  length  of  eighty,  and  even  eighty-five,  feet. 

How  strange  that  several  species  of  these  huge  crea- 
tures, on  account  of  the  peculiar  formation  of  their 
throats,  can  only  feed  on  the  most  minute  crustaceans 
and  pteropods.  The  fecundity  of  some  of  the  species 
of  the  latter  is  so  wonderful  that  they  cover  large 
areas  of  the  northern  and  southern  Atlantic  and  Pacific, 
and  swarm  in  vast  shoals,  covering  the  sea  for  miles, 
showing  their  presence  by  a  ruddy  hue  contrasting 

7 


KING   MOMBO 

with  the  color  of  the  water.  What  a  feast  the  whales 
have  when  they  come  where  these  small  creatures  are  ! 
Their  big  mouths  allow  them  to  take  in  barrels  of 
water  filled  with  these  minute  organisms,  and  they  are 
provided  with  a  peculiar  and  delicate  sieve,  by  which 
the  water  is  drained  off  and  the  mass  of  pteropods 
taken  into  their  stomachs. 

I  said  to  myself:  "  I  am  now  sailing  over  the  home 
of  the  whales,  and  I  am  going  to  the  home  of  the 
elephants." 

But  the  poor  whales  and  elephants  are  so  much 
hunted  that  they  become  fewer  in  number  every  year ; 
and  I  remembered  how  my  grandmother  used  to  worry 
at  the  thought  of  the  disappearance  of  the  whale,  for 
no  oil  for  lamps  could  then  be  procured,  and  what 
would  people  then  do  for  light  ? 

After  thinking  of  the  whales,  I  thought  of  the  count- 
less millions  and  varieties  of  fish  that  swim  in  the  sea. 
I  thought  of  the  codfish,  of  the  herring,  and  of  the 
mackerel,  and  of  their  innumerable  numbers,  and  of 
the  many  millions  that  are  caught  every  year  by  man. 
Their  vast  shoals  seem  not  to  diminish  in  spite  of  all. 

How  intelligent  are  the  codfish,  and  other  fishes,  in 
their  migration.  The  cod  come  by  countless  millions 
to  the  same  place  to  spawn.  They  make  their  appear- 
ance at  the  same  time,  year  after  year,  often  coming 


KING    MOMBO 

the  very  same  day  as  the  year  before,  and  rarely  more 
than  a  week  before  or  after  their  usual  time  of  arrival. 
After  spawning  they  disappear,  leaving  stragglers 
remaining  behind.  No  one  knows  where  they  go. 

Then  I  thought  of  the  relentless  warfare  among 
fishes,  the  big  fish  feeding  on  the  smaller  ones,  —  one 
single  big  fish  eating  hundreds  of  little  ones  in  one 
day,  the  very  big  ones  thousands.  The  number  eaten 
every  day  is  so  great  that  no  calculation  can  be  made 
of  those  destroyed.  But  if  it  were  not  for  this  great 
destruction  among  themselves,  the  sea  would  become 
so  thick  with  them,  the  water  would  become  poisoned 
and  they  would  all  die,  and  the  stench  would  spread 
the  plague  over  the  world  and  destroy  man. 

The  second  day  we  saw  a  sail  in  the  offing,  which 
relieved  the  loneliness  of  the  sea.  Human  beings 
were  on  board.  Man  loves  the  sight  of  man.  The 
ship  passed  close  to  ours  and  then  the  wake  it  left 
behind  disappeared  forever. 

Towards  evening  the  breeze  freshened,  the  sky  be- 
came dark,  and  clouds  hung  low  and  sped  rapidly. 
During  the  night  the  whistling  of  the  wind  and  the 
tossing  of  the  ship  told  me  that  a  storm  was  raging. 
We  had  entered  in  the  meantime  the  wonderful  Gulf 
Stream,  with  its  warm  water  flowing  northward.  The 
gale  was  from  the  southwest. 

9 


CHAPTER    II 

A  STORM  AT  SEA  —  A  TEMPEST-TOSSED  LITTLE  BIRD  — 
FINE  WEATHER  AGAIN  —  FIGHT  BETWEEN  A  SWORD- 
FISH  AND  A  WHALE. 

WHEN  I  came  on  deck  in  the  morning  there 
was  a  great  storm  raging.  The  sky  above 
our  heads  was  dark  and  threatening.  The  clouds 
were  low  and  moved  with  great  swiftness.  The  wind 
blew  with  the  fury  of  a  hurricane  and  hissed  through 
the  rigging.  The  sails  were  furled  except  two,  which, 
however,  had  three  reefs  in  them.  The  sea  looked 
fiercely  angry  and  the  big  waves  broke  one  after  an- 
other in  foaming  white  crests.  The  ocean  was  one  mass 
of  foam  and  spray.  The  rain  was  pouring  in  torrents. 
Our  little  ship  was  tossed  as  if  she  had  been  a  walnut- 
shell.  Wave  after  wave  broke  upon  her  side  or  buried 
her  prow,  pouring  tons  of  water  on  our  deck  and 
enveloping  us  at  the  same  time  in  spray.  At  times 
the  men  were  lashed  to  keep  them  from  being  washed 
overboard.  The  gulls  were  flying  over  our  heads, 
and  the  stormy  petrel  had  made  its  appearance.  For 
a  few  hours  it  looked  as  if  our  ship  could  not  with- 

10 


KING    MOMBO 

stand  the  storm  and  would  founder  under  a  big  wave. 
I  thought  at  that  time  that  I  should  never  see  home 
again. 

For  three  days  we  were  buffeted  over  the  great  sea. 
Then  the  storm  ceased.  The  sails  were  unreefed  and 
the  carpenters  and  the  sailors  made  the  necessary  re- 
pairs upon  our  battered  little  ship. 

Suddenly  I  thought  I  heard  the  cry  of  distress  of 
a  bird,  and  looking  upward  I  saw  a  little  bulfinch  fly- 
ing near  the  ship.  The  bird  wanted  to  perch  on  the 
rigging  but  did  not  dare.  He  came  near,  and  then 
moved  away,  uttering  little  cries  of  anguish.  Evidently 
the  sails  scared  him  —  for  he  had  never  seen  a  ship 
before  and  he  knew  that  it  was  not  a  tree.  The 
tempestuous  wind,  blowing  from  the  land,  had  driven 
this  little  wanderer  far  out  to  sea;  he  had  lost  his 
reckoning  and  did  not  know  where  the  land  was.  For 
several  days  and  nights  he  had  been  flying,  finding  no 
trees  to  rest  upon,  no  water  to  drink,  no  berries,  fruits 
or  seeds  to  eat.  He  was  exhausted,  for  he  had  had 
no  rest  and  no  food.  Fear  was  in  his  little  heart.  I 
got  water  and  bread  ready  for  him  in  case  he  came  on 
board  and  we  could  catch  him. 

During  the  day  he  followed  us,  uttering  his  little 
cries  of  distress,  but  did  not  dare  to  alight  upon  the 
ship,  though  he  knew  that  the  sea  was  his  enemy 

ii 


KING   MOMBO 

and  that  if  he  fell  into  the  water  he  would  meet  his 
death.  Perhaps  he  thought  of  the  land  he  had  left 
behind  —  of  his  dear  mates,  of  trees,  of  water  and  of 
food,  of  lovely  dales  and  little  brooks. 

I  noticed,  as  the  day  advanced,  that  the  little  bul- 
finch  did  not  fly  so  high  above  the  sea  as  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  lower  and  lower  became  his  flight.  The  motion 
of  his  wings  in  his  despair  became  quicker  and  quicker 
as  his  strength  diminished.  At  times  he  almost 
touched  the  water,  then,  uttering  a  shrill  cry,  he 
would  rise,  only  to  come  down  again.  I  shouted : 
"  Come  and  rest  upon  our  little  ship,  dear  little  bul- 
finch.  Come  on  deck ;  I  will  take  good  care  of  you. 
Here  are  food  and  water  waiting  for  you.  Nobody  on 
board  is  so  wicked  as  to  kill  you,  or  harm  you." 

But  the  little  bird  kept  on,  and  at  last  his  body 
touched  the  sea,  and  as  he  rose  he  uttered  a  most 
piercing  cry  of  distress,  then,  taking  an  upward  flight, 
he  hovered  over  the  ship.  His  strength  was  gone,  his 
wings  refused  to  move,  and  he  fell  upon  the  deck.  I 
rushed  quickly  towards  him  —  he  was  panting.  I  took 
him  in  my  hands  —  how  quickly  his  heart  was  beat- 
ing !  I  gave  him  some  water ;  he  drank  it,  then 
dropped  dead.  His  struggles  for  dear  life  were  over. 
Then  I  put  the  little  bulfinch  in  a  small  wooden  box ; 
it  was  his  coffin,  and  I  closed  the  top  and  buried  him 

12 


KING   MOMBO 

at  sea  just  as  the  sun  was  disappearing  below  the 
horizon. 

The  following  day  the  weather  was  very  beautiful, — 
a  lovely  blue  sky  was  over  our  heads.  What  a  change 
between  this  and  the  great  storm  we  had  passed 
through  !  The  sea  was  a  mass  of  beautiful  "  white 
caps,"  each  one  with  its  own  changing  form.  Strange 
as  it  seems,  there  are  no  two  things  exactly  alike  in  the 
world  —  not  even  two  white  caps,  two  blades  of 
grass,  two  leaves,  neither  two  men  nor  two  women. 

We  sailed  merrily  along  day  after  day,  carried  on 
by  variable  winds,  our  course  being  one  point  south 
of  east,  and  one  afternoon  gazing  over  the  ocean,  I 
saw  a  number  of  whales  disporting  and  spouting  water 
high  in  the  air.  Looking  over  the  rail  my  attention 
was  suddenly  attracted  to  a  large,  dark,  elongated  fish, 
that  was  swimming  fast,  as  if  in  quest  of  something. 
As  it  neared  the  ship  and  swam  alongside  I  recognized 
it  to  be  a  powerful  swordfish,  which  I  thought  was 
about  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  length.  Its  sword 
seemed  about  three  feet  long,  and  was  a  continuation 
of  its  upper  jaw.  The  sword  was  flat  and  pointed  at 
the  end.  The  very  shape  of  the  fish  showed  that  it 
could  swim  with  great  rapidity. 

The  swordfish  is  the  most  fearless  of  all  fishes,  I 
reflected  ;  he  is  afraid  of  nothing  and  might  take 


KING    MOMBO 

our  little  ship  for  a  whale,  and  attack  us ;  for  the 
whale  and  the  swordfish  are  sworn  enemies.  There 
are  many  instances  on  record  of  ships  being  attacked 
by  swordfish,  and  their  thick  oak  hulls  pierced  through, 
the  sword  remaining  in  the  wood,  the  fish  not  having 
strength  enough  to  draw  it  out  when  deeply  imbedded 
in  the  hull.  There  have  also  been  instances  in  which 
small  vessels  have  been  sunk  by  them. 

Soon  I  noticed  another  swordfish,  and  saw  both  of 
them  leap  out  of  the  water,  pursuing  each  other  and 
then  discovered  that  they  were  fighting.  They  were 
swimming  with  the  rapidity  of  an  express  train  at  the 
rate,  I  thought,  of  thirty  or  forty  miles  an  hour.  They 
were  so  quick  in  their  movements  that  they  could  not 
hit  each  other  with  their  swords.  Their  dorsal  fins  as 
they  cut  through  the  surface  of  the  water  made  a 
peculiar  noise  like  a  sharp  boat  with  sails  set  cutting 
through  the  sea.  They  would  disappear  under  the 
water  and  then  reappear  on  the  surface,  then  swim 
towards  each  other  with  such  extraordinary  velocity 
that  my  eyes  could  hardly  follow  them.  They  seemed 
to  know  that  their  vulnerable  point  was  the  side, 
and  wheeled  with  astonishing  quickness,  so  that  they 
would  always  face  each  other. 

A  short  time  afterwards  I  saw  ahead  of  us  a  great 
commotion  in  the  water  —  the  sea  was  white  with 

14 


1 


KING    MOMBO 

foam.  The  captain  shouted  to  me :  cc  A  swordfish 
is  fighting  a  whale."  I  went  up  the  rigging  to  see  the 
fight.  The  whale  spouted  big  streams  of  water  in  the 
air,  its  tail  was  slapping  the  sea  with  terrific  force, 
beating  the  water  into  white  spray  all  around.  At 
times  everything  was  like  a  white  mist  round  the  huge 
creature,  which  seemed  to  be  going  in  every  direction, 
as  if  bewildered.  It  was  fighting  for  dear  life,  and 
was  trying  to  hit  its  antagonist  with  its  powerful  tail. 
If  it  only  succeeded  in  striking  the  swordfish,  then 
the  greatest  creature  of  the  sea  would  be  the  victor. 

Unfortunately,  the  whale  is  unwieldy  and  the  sword- 
fish  is  very  quick  in  its  movements.  Every  frantic 
motion  the  whale  made  was  a  sign  that  the  swordfish 
had  plunged  its  long,  pointed  sword  into  its  body. 
The  fight  went  on  for  a  while,  the  swordfish  getting 
evidently  the  better  of  the  whale,  for  the  blows  of 
the  latter's  huge  tail  did  not  strike  the  water  with  as 
much  force  as  before,  and  the  sea  did  not  look  so 
disturbed.  Then  suddenly  I  saw  a  great  spout  of 
water  rise  above  the  sea,  and  all  became  quiet.  The 
fight  was  over ;  the  whale  had  been  vanquished  and 
had  received  its  death-thrust  from  the  swordfish,  and 
it  must  have  received  many  wounds,  for  as  we  sailed 
over  the  place  where  they  had  been  fighting,  the  sea 
was  red  with  blood. 

'5 


KING    MOMBO 

"  In  these  conflicts  between  the  swordfish  and  the 
whale,  it  is  said  that  the  whale  is  oftener  the  victor," 
said  the  captain  to  me,  "  for  if  the  whale  succeeds 
in  striking  the  swordfish  with  its  tail,  the  latter  is 
either  killed  or  so  much  stunned  that  the  combat  is 
not  renewed." 


16 


CHAPTER    III 

THE  SARGASSO  SEA  — THE  NORTHEAST  TRADE-WINDS  — 
DOLPHINS  AND  BONITAS  —  NEW  STARS  COME  INTO 
VIEW. 

A  FEW  days  after  the  fight  between  the  sword- 
fish  and  the  whale,  as  I  came  on  deck  early  in 
the  morning,  a  strange  sight  met  my  eyes.  I  could 
not  see  the  water  of  the  ocean,  the  vessel  appeared  as 
if  it  had  been  stranded  and  left  by  the  tide  on  a  land 
covered  with  seaweed.  We  had  entered  during  the 
night  that  part  of  the  Atlantic  which  was  called  by 
Columbus  and  other  early  Spanish  navigators  "  Mar 
de  Sarga^o  "  —  and  which  is  known  to  us  now  under 
the  name  of  the  Sargasso  Sea. 

The  Sargasso  Sea  lies  in  that  quiet  area  of  the  At- 
lantic Ocean  between  28°  and  32°  north  latitude, 
and  35°  and  55°  west  longitude,  varying  slightly  in  its 
position  at  times  on  account  of  long  prevailing  winds, 
or  currents  caused  by  those  winds.  This  sea  comprises 
an  area  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from 
north  to  south,  and  about  four  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  east  to  west.  This  space  is  entirely  cov- 
ered with  seaweed  and  in  many  places  so  thick  that 
for  hundreds  of  acres  the  water  is  hidden  from  view. 

17 


KING    MOMBO 

The  stem  of  the  Sargasso  weed  attains  often  a  length 
of  several  hundred  feet  and  has  many  branches  grow- 
ing from  the  stem,  which  in  the  course  of  time  break 
in  many  places.  These  vines  are  covered  with  berries, 
which  have  the  appearance  of  bunches  of  grapes.  On 
that  account  the  seaweed  is  called  by  the  sailors  by 
the  different  names  of  grape  weed,  grape  of  the  trop- 
ics, and  the  Sargasso  weed.  We  sailed  through  this 
remarkable  area  of  the  ocean,  carried  onwards  by  light 
variable  winds  —  sometimes  making  but  little  headway. 

One  day  we  met  the  Northeast  trade-winds,  which 
are  generally  encountered  at  about  the  fortieth  de- 
gree of  longitude  west  of  Greenwich,  and  30°  north 
latitude.  I  thought  how  wonderful  it  was  that  these 
northeast  trade-winds  had  been  blowing  constantly 
without  intermission  over  a  part  of  the  Atlantic,  as  long 
as  men  remembered,  for  thousands  of  years  and,  in 
fact,  from  the  time  the  great  desert  of  Sahara  appeared 
upon  our  earth.  These  northeast  trade-winds  blow 
across  the  Atlantic  Ocean  as  far  south  as  the  tenth 
degree  of  north  latitude  and  at  certain  times  of  the  year 
as  far  as  the  fifth  and  sixth  degrees,  and  lose  their 
force  as  they  reach  the  West  Indies. 

We  sailed  somewhat  parallel  to  the  coast  which  forms 
the  western  part  of  the  great  desert  of  Sahara,  which 
begins  south  of  Morocco,  latitude  30°  north  and  fol- 

18 


KING   MOMBO 

lows  the  Atlantic  near  to  the  Senegal  river  15°  north 
—  a  distance  on  a  straight  line  of  nine  hundred  miles. 

One  morning  as  I  came  on  deck,  before  it  had  been 
washed,  I  noticed  some  minute  particles  of  sand  that 
had  fallen  from  the  sky,  and  were  still  falling,  though 
we  were  hundreds  of  miles  at  sea.  It  was  sand  from 
the  great  Sahara,  which  had  been  carried  high  into  the 
atmosphere  by  the  wind,  and  the  captain  said  to  me 
when  he  saw  my  astonishment:  "Sometimes  the  sand 
from  the  Sahara  is  carried  a  thousand  miles  out  to  sea, 
and  we  are  now  about  seven  hundred  miles  from  the 
coast/' 

The  lively  northeast  trade-winds  carried  us  south- 
ward day  after  day  —  and  how  beautiful  was  the  sky  ! 
White  fleecy  clouds,  looking  like  gigantic  flashes  of 
cotton,  often  diaphanous,  floated  rapidly  by,  borne  on 
the  wind  in  the  blue  heavens  which  were  reflected  in 
the  sea.  There  was  no  rain  to  disturb  us.  No 
weather  could  have  been  more  beautiful. 

Almost  every  day  we  saw  immense  shoals  of  por- 
poises swimming  at  a  great  rate  and  jumping  out  of 
the  water,  many  amusing  themselves  in  swimming 
round  our  little  ship.  They  seemed  always  to  swim 
against  the  wind.  At  other  times  dolphins  and  bonitas 
followed  us.  The  dolphin  is  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
fishes,  and  they  added  to  our  larder,  for  they  were 


KING   MOMBO 

voracious  and  eagerly  bit  at  the  hooks.  In  its  death 
throes  the  dolphin  changed  into  hues  of  marvellous 
colors.  Once  in  a  great  while  we  would  see  a  turtle 
floating  on  the  sea.  Days  passed  away,  our  little  ves- 
sel sailing  under  a  most  beautiful  sky  with  a  lovely 
breeze.  I  had  noticed  a  change  in  the  firmament. 
The  heavens  at  night  were  not  like  those  at  home. 
Some  of  the  stars  that  were  south  in  the  northern 
states  were  now  north,  and  stars  appeared  daily 
which  were  unknown  to  me.  The  constellations  had 
changed  their  shape  also.  The  north  star  reached  its 
meridian  altitude  lower  every  day,  and  came  nearer 
and  nearer  the  horizon.  Other  stars  of  our  northern 
latitude  followed  in  its  wake. 

At  last,  one  night  the  north  star  was  very  near  the 
horizon  and  showed  itself  for  a  short  time  only.  The 
next  night  as  I  watched  for  it,  it  suddenly  appeared, 
and  for  the  last  time,  as  it  was  on  the  point  of 
disappearing  under  the  horizon.  It  seemed  as  if 
I  heard  the  dear  north  star  say  to  me  :  "  Good-by, 
Paul :  you  will  not  see  me  again  until  you  come  back 
home,"  and  I  answered :  "  Good-by,  little  north  star, 
I  hope  to  come  home  again  and  look  at  you  when 
you  twinkle  in  the  sky,"  and  at  those  words  of  mine, 
the  star  vanished  from  my  sight.  The  next  night  I 
watched  in  vain  for  its  appearance ;  it  never  came. 

20 


KING   MOMBO 

As  we  sailed  southward  the  constellation  of  the 
southern  cross  appeared,  —  four  brilliant  stars  making 
the  perfect  shape  of  a  cross,  —  Sirius  resplendent  in 
light  and  the  most  brilliant  star  in  the  heavens,  called 
also  the  Dog  Star.  All  the  southern  stars  seemed  to 
say  "  Welcome,  Paul,  to  our  southern  latitudes."  But 
they  were  strangers  to  me.  Though  I  admired  their 
brilliancy  I  longed  for  our  northern  stars,  —  for  we 
love  the  stars  which  shine  upon  the  country  where  we 
were  born. 


21 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE     "  DOLDRUMS"  -  FIERCE    HEAT    OF    THE    SUN- 

STRONG   LOCAL  CURRENTS  —  THE   SOUTHEAST  TRADE- 
WINDS  —  HUGE    SHARKS    ALL    AROUND    US. 

OUR  happy  days  in  this  enchanted  region  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  were  coming  to  an  end.  The 
northeast  trade-winds  became  less  strong  as  we  neared 
the  equator,  and  soon  died  away.  Then  came  a  great 
calm ;  we  had  entered  that  area  of  the  Atlantic  which 
is  the  dread  of  the  mariner  with  sailing  ships  and 
known  under  the  name  of  "  Doldrums,"  a  region  of 
calms,  baffling  winds,  and  squalls  accompanied  by 
thunder  and  lightning. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  "  Doldrums  "  as  long  as  I 
live,  and  the  days  I  spent  crossing  it.  It  lies  between 
the  northeast  and  southeast  trade-winds,  and  we  had  to 
sail  through  it  to  reach  the  southeast  trade-winds. 

"  Doldrums,"  in  the  language  of  the  sailor,  means 
dull  and  low-spirited,  and  well  deserved  is  the  name. 
It  is  also  known  by  them  as  the  horse  latitudes,  for 
when  ships  linger  there  for  weeks,  horses,  cattle,  live 
stock  have  to  be  thrown  overboard  for  lack  of  water 

22 


KING    MOMBO 

and  food.  When  unlucky,  vessels  are  detained  several 
weeks  within  its  belt.  The  area  varies  more  or  less 
according  to  the  strength  of  the  trade-winds. 

No  northeast  trade-winds  cooled  the  atmosphere. 
The  reflection  of  the  powerful  rays  of  the  sun  from 
the  warm  ocean  made  the  heat  intense  during  the  day. 
During  the  night  our  cabin  was  unbearable.  Not  a 
breath  of  wind  came  to  our  relief,  not  a  ripple  was 
seen  on  the  deep-blue  ocean,  which  looked  like  a  sea 
of  glass.  For  five  days  two  empty  flour  barrels  that 
had  been  thrown  overboard  remained  alongside  of 
our  ship.  Long,  heavy  swells  followed  each  other 
and  made  the  vessel  roll  in  such  a  terrible  manner 
that  I  thought  at  times  that  the  ends  of  the  main-yards 
would  touch  the  sea.  The  calm  was  so  great  that  the 
steering  gear  was  of  no  use,  the  sails  had  to  be  furled 
to  protect  them  from  being  torn  to  pieces,  as  they 
struck  the  mast  at  each  roll  of  the  ship  with  tre- 
mendous force.  We  lay  often  athwart  these  swells, 
the  vessel  rolling  in  such  manner  that  we  could  not 
stand  on  the  deck,  and  had  to  hold  to  the  rigging  or 
something  fast  in  order  not  to  be  dashed  to  one  side 
or  another  or  against  the  bulwarks. 

The  unprotected  parts  of  the  ship  that  came  under 
the  rays  of  the  sun  became  so  hot  that  we  could  not 
rest  our  hands  upon  them.  If  we  had  had  no  tents 

23 


KING   MOMBO 

protecting  the  decks  and  ourselves  we  should  not  have 
been  able  to  live  through  the  "  Doldrums."  It  was  out 
of  the  question  to  sleep  below  decks,  for  there  the  atmos- 
phere was  suffocating  and  the  ventilators  had  become 
useless  for  want  of  air.  We  always  longed  for  the 
night,  and  rejoiced  each  time  the  sun  disappeared 
below  the  horizon.  In  the  morning  we  dreaded  its 
appearance.  To  go  into  the  cabin  for  our  meals,  to 
hold  on  to  the  table  while  eating,  was  often  impossible 
on  account  of  the  terrific  rolling;  our  drinking  water 
became  tepid,  for  we  had  no  ice  to  cool  it.  In  a  word, 
life  was  a  burden. 

After  a  few  days  of  dead  calms  we  encountered  baf- 
fling winds  and  squalls  day  after  day.  A  squall  would 
rise,  push  us  on  our  way  towards  the  southeast  trade- 
winds,  another  would  come  in  another  direction  and 
send  us  back  where  we  had  come  from.  Between  the 
squalls  came  a  dead  calm. 

The  captain  often  mistrusted  the  strength  of  the 
squalls,  and  when  he  saw  the  black  clouds  gather  on 
the  horizon,  the  forerunner  of  the  squall,  the  sails 
were  furled,  for  fear  that  the  power  of  the  wind 
might  dismast  or  capsize  the  ship.  Sometimes  when 
he  thought  the  squall  would  not  be  a  heavy  one  and 
when  it  came  from  the  right  direction,  he  would  have 
the  men  at  the  halliards  ready  to  spread  the  sails,  in 

24 


KING    MOMBO 

case  he  was  mistaken  in  his  judgment,  for  he  wanted 
to  take  every  advantage  and  not  lose  one  minute  of 
fair  wind  that  would  help  us  to  get  away  from  the 
regions  of  the  "  Doldrums/' 

Once  in  a  while  we  encountered  strong  local  cur- 
rents. How  strange  are  these  currents  found  in  the 
middle  of  the  ocean  —  an  independent  body  of  water 
moving  at  times  with  a  velocity  of  three  and  four 
miles  an  hour  —  a  wide,  rippling  river  with  its  own 
eddies  and  white  caps  flowing  in  an  ocean  often  as 
smooth  as  a  looking-glass  ! 

When  I  could  hardly  stand  the  stifling  heat,  I 
looked  with  a  longing  eye  at  the  sea,  and  wished 
that  I  could  plunge  into  it  and  take  a  swim,  but  the 
sharks  were  there  watching  for  food  and  prey. 

After  entering  the  c<  Doldrums,"  sharks  had  become 
far  more  numerous  than  before  and  were  hardly  ever 
out  of  sight.  They  swam  round  our  vessel  when  we 
did  not  move,  and  when  we  did  move  they  followed  in 
our  wake.  The  sharks  frequenting  the  equatorial 
regions  are  more  voracious  than  in  other  parts  of 
the  ocean,  —  they  are  the  tigers  and  leopards  of  the 
sea.  Woe  to  the  man  who  falls  into  the  water  when 
they  are  about,  for  he  is  sure  to  be  devoured  by 
them. 

The  sailors  have  a  superstition  that  when  a  man  is 

25 


KING   MOMBO 

ill  on  board,  the  sharks  know  it,  and  follow  the  ship 
until  the  man  dies  and  is  thrown  overboard. 

Many  of  these  sharks  were  surrounded  by  tiny  little 
fish  which  the  sailors  call  pilots.  These  seem  to  feed 
on  the  vermin  which  adhere  to  the  skin  of  the  sharks. 
These  little  pilot  fish  were  not  more  than  four  or  five 
inches  in  length  and  were  very  pretty  to  look  at. 

The  structure  of  the  mouth  of  the  sharks  is  such 
that  they  have  to  turn  on  their  backs  in  order  to  swal- 
low. What  terrible  rows  of  teeth  they  have,  —  so 
sharp,  just  like  the  teeth  of  a  saw !  With  a  heavy 
hook  made  fast  to  a  chain  we  captured  one  that  had 
seven  rows  of  teeth. 

I  often  shuddered  when  I  looked  at  some  huge  shark 
following  the  ship,  and  retired  instinctively  from  the 
stern  for  fear  lest  something  should  give  way  and  I 
should  fall  into  the  sea.  Nothing  could  then  have 
saved  my  life  —  I  should  have  been  dragged  down  by 
one  of  those  voracious  creatures,  and  then  eaten  piece- 
meal. 

Once  in  a  while  there  was  not  a  shark  in  sight  — 
they  were  simply  hovering  around  under  the  surface 
of  the  water  waiting  for  prey.  The  sailors  often  said  : 
"  Let  a  man  fall  overboard,  and  they  will  appear  soon 
enough ! " 

Some  sharks   love  the  solitude  of  the  open  sea  — 

26 


KING    MOMBO 

others  like  to  be  near  the  shore.  There  are  many 
kinds  of  these  fierce  creatures.  Some,  which  are  called 
the  pelagic  sharks,  are  the  largest  inhabitants  of 
the  sea,  after  the  whale,  and  there  are  several  species 
or  varieties.  Some  of  these  attain  a  length  of  from 
twenty-five  to  forty  feet. 

As  I  watched  the  water,  I  would  see  a  hammer 
shark,  so  named  on  account  of  his  head,  with  a 
thick  body  of  about  nine  feet  in  length  ;  this  species 
is  reputed  one  of  the  most  ferocious.  Then  a  blue 
shark  would  make  its  appearance,  and  one  day  I  saw  a 
specimen  belonging  to  the  genus  Carcharodon.  He 
was  an  enormous  one  ;  the  captain  said  that  some- 
times they  attain  a  length  of  forty  feet.  But  the 
largest  of  all  these  monsters  of  the  deep  are  found  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  attain  a  length  of  fifty  feet. 


27 


CHAPTER   V 

CROSSING  THE  EQUATOR  —  THE  SOUTHEAST  TRADE- 
WINDS  —  THE  EQUATORIAL  CURRENT  —  THE  GULF 
STREAM  —  STRUCK  BY  A  TORNADO  —  LAND  IN  SIGHT  — 
AFRICA  AT  LAST  — THE  GREAT  FOREST. 

IN  spite  of  the  counter  currents  and  contrary  squalls, 
we  crept  slowly  southward  to  meet  the  south- 
easterly winds,  the  captain  taking  advantage  of  every 
opportunity  offered  by  the  weather.  After  many  dis- 
couragements and  setbacks,  we  at  last  crossed  the 
equator. 

One  afternoon  a  squall  rose  and  drove  us  southward. 
After  it  had  blown  over,  it  became  calm  again.  Then 
we  saw,  far  away,  ripples  on  the  ocean,  which  gradually 
came  nearer  and  nearer.  These  ripples  were  the  fore- 
runners of  the  southeast  trade-winds  that  were  coming 
towards  us.  Soon  after  we  felt  a  cool,  gentle  breeze, 
and  a  shout  of  joy  came  from  all  on  board.  Our 
imprisonment  in  the  "  Doldrums  "  was  over  ! 

The  southeast  trade-winds  were  at  first  very  light, 
for  we  had  reached  just  where  they  were  dying  away, 
close  to  the  region  of  the  "  Doldrums,"  but  towards 

28 


KING    MOMBO 

evening  the  breeze  freshened.  The  next  day  white  caps 
covered  the  sea,  and  life  became  pleasant  once  more. 
The  southeast  trade-winds  were  strong,  and  now  we  had 
the  same  beautiful  blue  sky  as  under  the  northeast 
trade-winds,  and  the  same  beautiful  white  and  often 
transparent  clouds. 

These  southeast  trade-winds  have  also  blown  from 
time  immemorial  —  the  hot  air  of  the  South  African 
continent  bringing  about  the  same  results  as  the  hot 
air  of  the  desert  of  Sahara. 

Then  we  tacked  ship,  and  laid  our  course  towards 
the  west  coast  of  Africa.  I  asked  the  captain  if  I 
should  have  to  pass  again  through  such  dreadful  re- 
gions as  that  of  the  "Doldrums"  when  I  returned  home. 
"  No/'  he  replied ;  "  on  the  return  trip  from  the  equa- 
torial regions  of  Africa,  we  sail  with  the  southeast 
trade-winds,  south  of  the  equator,  to  avoid  these 
dreaded  c  Doldrums/  carried  onward  by  the  southeast 
trade-winds  until  a  few  hundred  miles  off  the  coast  of 
Brazil ;  then  we  get  into  variable,  and  often  light 
winds." 

Then  I  thought  that  if  our  little  ship  were  left  to 
drift  within  the  area  of  the  northeast  or  southeast 
trade-winds,  in  the  course  of  time  she  would  reach  the 
South  American  coast,  then  drift  gradually  northward, 
and,  if  not  stranded  on  the  way,  would  get  into  the 

29 


KING   MOMBO 

Gulf  Stream,  then  be  carried  northward,  passing  the 
latitude  of  New  York,  whence  we  came. 

The  northeast  and  southeast  trade-winds  cause  the 
initial  movement  of  the  currents  which,  in  their 
course,  make  the  current  known  to  us  as  the  Gulf 
Stream. 

The  two  trade-winds,  blowing  continually  from  the 
hot  regions  of  Africa,  drive  the  hot  water  of  the 
tropics  from  Africa  westward,  towards  South  America, 
and  this  current  is  known  as  the  equatorial  current. 

The  Bight  of  Biafra,  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  may  be 
considered  the  head  waters  of  this  equatorial  current, 
which  runs  all  the  way  from  about  eighteen  to  twenty- 
five  miles  every  twenty-four  hours,  until  it  strikes  the 
South  American  coast. 

This  equatorial  current,  or  stream,  is  a  shallow  river 
of  warm  water,  not  deeper  than  three  hundred  feet. 
The  temperature  of  the  water  is  between  75°  and  80° 
Fahrenheit  at  the  surface,  and  not  more  than  60°  at 
the  depth  of  six  hundred  feet,  —  the  deeper  water  not 
being  so  heated  by  the  sun,  of  course,  as  the  surface 
water.  Besides,  from  below  there  is  a  continual  rising 
or  flow  of  cold  polar  water. 

This  equatorial  current  strikes  the  American  coast 
about  Cape  St.  Roque,  some  three  hundred  miles 
south  of  the  equator.  The  obstruction  of  the  land 

30 


KING    MOMBO 

divides  the  current  into  two  parts,  one  going  south- 
ward, but  the  greater  volume  of  water  going  northward, 
with  great  increase  of  velocity,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  any  current,  even  in  a  river,  that  finds  an  obstruc- 
tion, runs  more  rapidly  along  the  obstruction.  So  the 
equatorial  current,  which  presses  northward  along  the 
coast  from  Cape  St.  Roque  and  the  Orinoco  River, 
flows  with  great  rapidity  —  from  sixty  to  eighty  miles  in 
twenty-four  hours.  Then  it  passes  the  Caribbean  Sea, 
turns  westward,  and  follows  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  at  the  rate  of  from  thirty  to  sixty  miles  a  day. 

The  Gulf  Stream  flows  along  the  American  coast, 
from  which  it  is  separated  by  a  cold  current  from  the 
icy  north,  forming  what  might  be  called  a  wide  band 
separating  the  Gulf  Stream  from  our  shores.  We 
ought  to  be  thankful  to  this  cold-water  band,  other- 
wise our  climate  would  be  much  warmer. 

Now  we  were  sailing  towards  the  west  coast  of 
Africa,  —  the  innermost  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea, 
situated  somewhat  near  the  equator.  At  last  came  the 
day  when  we  were  not  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  the  mainland.  In  the  afternoon  of 
that  day  a  dark,  compact  mass  rose  from  the  east,  over 
the  horizon,  and  became  larger  and  larger,  in  spite  of 
the  contrary  winds  that  struck  against  it.  There  was 
a  contest  between  the  two,  and  one  had  to  get  the  mas- 


KING   MOMBO 

tery  over  the  other.  The  captain  was  watching 
anxiously  that  part  of  the  horizon.  Finally  he  turned 
to  me  and  said  :  cc  A  tornado  is  going  to  burst  upon  us 
very  soon.  We  must  be  ready  when  it  strikes  us." 
So  all  the  sails  were  furled.  The  muttering  of  the 
thunder  could  be  heard.  The  wind  had  died  away, 
and  the  calm  was  the  forerunner  of  the  tornado. 

In  the  meantime  a  grayish  spot  rose  from  the  hori- 
zon under  the  black  mass.  Soon  after,  this  great  spot 
rose  with  great  rapidity,  driving  and  breaking  the  dark 
mass  into  black  clouds  that  flew  wildly  in  every  direc- 
tion. The  tornado  was  coming.  We  saw  the  sea 
enveloped  with  spray,  and  in  an  instant  it  was  upon 
us.  Fortunately  we  were  ready.  The  wind  blew 
with  terrific  force,  our  little  vessel  careened  over,  the 
gunwales  on  the  starboard  side  almost  reaching  the 
sea.  The  force  of  the  wind  was  so  great  that  it  pre- 
vented the  sea  from  rising  into  big  waves. 

Then  came  rain,  lightning,  and  thunder.  Never  in 
my  life  before  had  I  heard  such  thunder,  or  seen  such 
vivid  lightning,  or  such  pouring  rain.  I  was  constantly 
afraid  that  we  would  be  struck  by  lightning,  and  I 
had  powder  enough  on  board  to  blow  the  ship  to 
pieces.  Gradually  the  thunder  and  lightning  moved 
away  from  us,  and  the  wind,  though  strong,  moder- 
ated. By  that  time  it  was  night,  and  as  dark  as  pitch. 

32 


KING    MOMBO 

When  I  awoke  in  the  morning  the  wind  had  gone 
down,  and  I  saw  an  island  covered  with  forest.  After 
a  noon  observation  we  found  that  it  was  Princess 
Island,  belonging  to  Portugal,  and  situated  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  coast  of  Africa. 

Two  days  after  we  came  in  sight  of  the  mainland, 
and  saw  the  great  African  equatorial  forest  as  if  rising 
from  the  sea.  Far  inland  were  mountains  clad  with 
trees  to  their  very  tops.  The  forest  was  inhabited  by 
numerous  savage  tribes  who  had  never  seen  a  white 
man,  and  ferocious  and  strange  looking  beasts,  seen 
in  no  other  part  of  the  world.  In  that  great  forest  I 
was  to  live,  and  we  skirted  the  shore  until  we  found  a 
proper  anchorage.  Then  we  saw  numerous  canoes, 
filled  with  men  paddling  towards  us.  These  came  on 
board  and  inquired  if  we  wanted  to  barter  for  ivory 
with  them.  They  had,  they  said,  a  number  of  big 
elephants'  tusks  in  their  village.  I  replied  that  I  did 
not  want  to  trade  with  them,  but  would  like  to  stay 
with  them  and  kill  wild  beasts  and  birds,  and  stuff  them, 
and  collect  also  all  the  butterflies  and  insects  I  could, 
and  keep  them,  and  take  these  to  the  country  of  the 
white  man.  We  told  them  to  go  back  and  to  tell 
their  king  that  I  was  coming.  One  canoe  remained 
behind  to  take  me  ashore. 

How  strange  was  that  great  forest!  Not  a  tree 
3  33 


KING   MOMBO 

was  like  those  we  had  at  home.  Their  leaves  were 
different  in  shape,  and  some  of  them  were  large  and 
beautiful.  Many  of  these  trees  bore  brilliant  flowers. 
Some  were  as  big  as  the  California  trees.  The  foliage 
was  so  thick  that  for  long  distances  in  the  forest  the 
sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  and  the  sky  could  not  be 
seen. 

There  were  hunting  and  other  paths  leading  from 
one  village  to  another.  The  way  from  one  tribe  to 
another  was  often  very  tedious.  At  a  certain  season 
of  the  year  there  was  great  thunder,  lightning,  and 
rain,  preceded  by  tornadoes.  This  was  called  the 
rainy  season.  Then  there  was  a  time  without  rain. 
This  was  called  the  dry  season,  or  enomo. 

I  had  no  white  man  with  me  —  and  as  time  went 
on  I  learned  many  languages  or  dialects,  so  that  I 
could  talk  to  the  people.  When  I  was  absent,  the 
kings  or  other  friends  took  care  of  the  goods  I  left 
in  their  hands. 


34 


CHAPTER   VI 

WANDERING  THROUGH  THE  FOREST  AND  LEARNING 
THE  COUNTRY—  I  REACH  KING  MOMBO's  VILLAGE 
—  RECEIVED  BY  THE  KING—  HIS  FEAR  OF  WITCH- 
CRAFT—VISITS MY  DWELLING  AND  RECEIVES 
PRESENTS  FROM  ME. 

\  FTER  wandering  in  that  part  of  the  great  forest 
-*•  ^  north  of  the  equator  and  seeing  many  of  its 
wild  and  fierce  inhabitants  —  and  hunting  and  killing 
many  strange  animals  and  birds  —  I  came  back  to  the 
coast  and  sailed  along  its  shore  southward  until  I 
came  to  several  large  rivers,  the  Nazareth,  the  Mexias 
and  the  Fernan-Vaz,  —  the  Nazareth  forty  miles, 
and  the  Fernan-Vaz  seventy  miles  south  of  the 
equator.  These  rivers  pour  forth  a  great  quantity 
of  fresh  water  far  out  to  sea.  They  flow  through  the 
great  forest,  and  their  shores  are  inhabited  by  many 
tribes.  I  lived  among  them  a  long  while,  and  was 
greatly  beloved  by  the  people  and  their  chiefs,  many 
of  whom  became  my  good  friends.  Wherever  I  went 
I  was  sure  of  a  hearty  welcome.  I  felt  perfectly  safe 
among  them.  My  word  was  law.  I  was  known  all 
over  the  land  as  the  Oguizi,  or  "  Spirit." 

35 


KING    MOMBO 

Often  I  used  to  go  all  alone  in  my  canoe  from  one 
place  to  another.  Strange  indeed  was  the  life  I  led. 
I  loved  to  roam  alone  and  be  by  myself,  and  often  I 
slept  in  the  forest  without  any  companion.  It  hap- 
pened that  one  day  I  came  to  a  village  where  I  landed 
and  asked  the  people  who  had  seen  my  canoe  arrive  and 
had  come  to  meet  me  if  the  place  was  the  residence  of 
King  Mombo  —  for  I  knew  that  I  had  come  to  that  part 
of  the  forest  where  he  ruled.  They  answered  that  it  was 
and  told  me  to  follow  them.  We  walked  together 
through  the  strange-looking  street  that  made  up  the  vil- 
lage. The  houses  were  small,  built  of  the  bark  of 
trees,  each  having  one  door  but  no  windows. 

Back  of  the  houses  and  between  them  and  the  for- 
est were  numerous  plantain  trees  with  here  and  there  a 
banana  tree.  The  leaves  of  these  were  very  large ; 
some  were  over  six  feet  in  length  and  eighteen  or 
twenty  inches  wide.  The  plantain  is  much  like  a 
banana,  only  much  larger,  and  is  cooked  by  the 
natives  when  green  and  used  by  them  as  bread  is  by  us 
at  home.  I  was  led  to  a  large  building  where  the 
people  met  to  discuss  subjects  of  importance.  It  was 
simply  a  roof  supported  by  a  number  of  pillars.  A 
stool  made  of  a  single  piece  of  a  tree  was  brought  in 
for  me  and  another  one  for  King  Mombo. 

After  I  was  seated,  some  man  went  to  tell  the  king 

36 


KING    MOMBO 

that  a  stranger  had  come  to  see  him.  King  Mombo 
and  his  people  had  heard  of  me,  for  my  reputation 
had  gone  far  and  wide,  as  I  have  said,  and  whoever 
met  me  knew  from  the  description  they  had  heard  of 
me  that  I  was  the  good  Oguizi,  with  long,  straight  black 
hair  hanging  over  his  shoulders,  who  did  harm  to 
nobody  and  was  the  friend  of  so  many  people. 

Soon  after,  I  heard  the  sound  of  the  "kendo" — an 
emblem  only  worn  by  chiefs  —  a  rude  bell  of  iron  in 
one  piece  with  a  long  handle  of  iron  also  and  sounding 
like  a  cow-bell.  The  sound  grew  louder  and  louder, 
until  King  Mombo  stood  before  me.  He  was  tall 
and  slender ;  on  his  body  were  several  scars  from 
wounds  he  had  received  in  wars,  but  he  had  a  kind 
face,  and  was  gray-headed.  Round  his  neck  was  a 
necklace  of  leopards'  teeth  and  round  his  waist  a  belt 
of  leopard  skin  on  which  hung  a  number  of  amulets 
or  charms  called  by  the  people  "  mondahs."  These 
were  to  protect  him  from  harm. 

Some  of  his  slaves  and  several  of  his  wives  set 
before  me  a  number  of  bunches  of  plantains,  several 
baskets  of  sweet  potatoes,  a  goat,  several  chickens, 
and  nine  eggs.  These  presents  showed  that  I  was 
welcomed. 

After  a  short  pause  King  Mombo  said :  "  Oguizi, 
I  am  very  glad  you  have  come  to  see  me.  Remain 

37 


KING    MOMBO 

with  me  a  long  time.  There  is  plenty  of  game  in  the 
forest,  and  among  my  people  and  slaves  are  great 
hunters." 

Looking  at  his  people,  he  said  to  them :  "  Take 
good  care  of  our  Oguizi."  Then  he  shouted  aloud : 
"  See  how  far  my  name  and  my  fame  are  known.  The 
Oguizi  has  come  to  see  me/'  and  as  he  said  these 
words  he  raised  his  head  proudly.  The  people  shouted : 
"  Great  indeed  is  Mombo  our  king.  Great  is  the 
Oguizi."  The  tomtoms  made  a  great  noise  in 
honor  of  my  arrival. 

Then  King  Mombo  called  three  of  his  wives  and 
six  of  his  slaves,  and  said  to  me  :  "  These  women  are 
yours  ;  they  will  cook  for  you,  get  water  for  you,  and 
keep  your  house  clean.  These  slaves  are  yours,  and 
will  do  what  you  order  them  to  do.  I  and  my  people 
will  all  do  whatever  you  wish  us  to  do." 

Then  the  king's  men  went  to  fetch  the  things  I 
had  in  my  canoe.  Among  them  were  presents  for  the 
king. 

A  house  was  given  to  me  not  far  from  the  one 
where  King  Mombo  slept.  It  was  divided  into  two 
rooms,  and  there  were  two  beds  in  one  of  the  rooms. 
These  beds  were  simply  flat  surfaces  made  of  the  bark 
of  trees,  upon  which  were  several  pretty  mats  made  by 
the  king's  wives.  In  the  evening  I  went  to  see  King 

38 


"When  he  saw  these  presents  his  face  beamed  with  joy" 


KING    MOMBO 

Mombo,  and  said  to  him :  "  To-morrow  morning  I 
will  make  your  heart  glad,  for  I  have  some  presents 
for  you." 

"  Not  in  the  morning,'*  he  replied,  "  for  I  do  not 
want  my  people  to  see  what  you  are  going  to  give  me, 
for  there  is  much  witchcraft  in  our  land,  and  many  are 
killed  by  it.  Often  relatives  bewitch  those  from 
whom  they  expect  to  inherit,  and  cause  their  death. 
Oh,"  he  added,  with  fierceness  in  his  eyes,  "  when 
we  find  wizards  and  witches  we  put  them  to  death." 
After  a  pause,  he  resumed :  "  Kokolo,  Kokolo," 
(which  meant  "  Please  ")  "  do  not  tell  any  one  that  you 
gave  me  presents."  Then  he  took  hold  of  my  right 
foot  to  add  force  to  his  request.  Slaves  do  that  to 
their  masters  when  imploring  for  their  lives,  or  asking 
not  to  be  sold.  I  promised  him  not  to  tell,  and  he 
gave  a  great  sigh  of  relief  at  my  words.  And  as  he 
left  me  he  whispered  in  my  ear,  "  Wait  until  it  is  dark, 
very  dark,  to-morrow  before  you  send  for  me  to  give 
m€  my  presents." 

<c  It  will  be  very  dark  when  I  send  for  you,  King 
Mombo,"  I  replied,  and  at  my  words  he  shook  my 
hand  gratefully. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night  when  everybody  was 
asleep  I  saw  in  the  dark  two  people  entering  my  hut, 
and  heard  in  a  whisper:  "It  is  I,  King  Mombo, 

39 


KING   MOMBO 

and  my  faithful  slave  Rabolo.     I    come   to   get   my 
presents." 

I  lighted  a  torch.  It  was  Mombo.  He  had  not 
had  the  patience  to  wait  longer.  His  face  and  body 
were  painted  in  different  colors,  and  he  was  covered 
with  charms  to  protect  him  against  witchcraft.  I  set 
at  his  feet  two  brass  kettles,  a  gun,  a  big  bunch  of 
white  beads,  three  files,  two  discs  of  steel  with  flint  for 
making  fire,  a  red  woollen  cap,  and  two  looking-glasses. 
When  he  saw  these  presents  his  face  beamed  with  joy, 
and  after  thanking  me  profusely  he  and  his  slave 
Rabolo  left,  carrying  with  them  the  precious  gifts. 
The  king  implored  me  again  to  tell  no  one  of  the 
things  I  had  given  him. 


40 


CHAPTER   VII 

SUPERSTITIONS  OF  KING  MOMBO  —  VISITS  TO  THE 
HOUSE  OF  HIS  IDOLS  AND  HIS  ANCESTORS  —  A 
STRANGE  MEAL  FOLLOWED  BY  A  STRANGE  DANCE. 

POOR  King  Mombo  was,  you  will  see,  excessively 
superstitious.  He  was  often  unhappy  on  that 
account.  He  was  thinking  almost  all  the  time  that 
some  of  his  relations  wanted  to  bewitch  him  in  order 
to  inherit  his  wealth,  which  was  composed  chiefly  of 
wives  and  slaves.  He  wore  what  he  firmly  believed 
to  be  most  potent  "  mondahs,"  charms  against  witch- 
craft and  evil  spirits.  He  had  a  little  idol,  having 
the  shape  of  a  woman,  called  Makaylay,  which  he 
always  carried  with  him  wherever  he  went.  At  night 
he  kept  her  by  his  side. 

He  was  also  a  great  believer  in  dreams,  for  these 
foretold  to  him  what  was  to  happen,  and  forewarned 
him  of  dangers  to  come.  Often  after  something  had 
taken  place  he  would  say  to  his  people  that  he  had 
had  a  dream  in  which  the  spirits  of  his  ancestors  came 
to  him  and  told  him  of  what  was  about  to  happen. 
He  was  most  particular  about  his  food.  His  for- 
bidden food  was  buffalo  meat,  and  no  amount  of  gifts 
on  my  part  could  have  tempted  him  to  eat  buffalo. 

41 


KING   MOMBO 

Here  and  there  throughout  the  village  were  sacred 
houses,  where  spirits  came  to  dwell  during  the  night, 
while  others  had  been  built  for  idols. 

One  day  King  Mombo  and  I  entered  the  house  of 
Abamboo,  one  of  the  wandering  spirits  in  which  they 
believe.  The  face  of  the  king  showed  that  he  was 
inspired  with  deep  reverence.  A  little  fire  was  burn- 
ing. On  one  side  was  a  bed  for  Abamboo  to  sleep 
on  when  he  came  to  visit  the  village  at  night. 

"Abamboo  is  a  spirit  which  can  send  to  men  a 
great  deal  of  evil,"  said  Mombo.  "  We  have  to  do  a 
great  many  things  to  propitiate  his  good  will.  He 
lives  in  many  places,  especially  among  the  skeletons 
of  the  dead.  He  walks  through  the  country,  and  if 
he  is  angry  at  any  one  he  causes  him  to  fall  sick,  and 
often  condemns  him  to  die.  We  cook  food  for  him. 
We  give  him  game,  plantain,  and  sugar-cane,  which 
we  deposit  in  the  forest." 

Next  we  entered  the  house  where  Pangeo  and  his 
wife  Aleha  dwelt.  Pangeo  was  about  two  feet  high. 
His  tongue  was  of  iron,  sharp-pointed  and  came  out 
about  two  inches  from  his  mouth.  His  eyes  were  of 
iron ;  his  legs  were  short  and  he  had  a  very  big 
stomach ;  his  body  was  painted  of  different  colors. 

Aleha  was  of  the  same  size.  Her  eyes  were  made  of 
pieces  of  looking-glass.  She  wore  enormous  earrings 

42 


KING    MOMBO 

of  brass,  had  bracelets  of  brass,  and  her  ankles  were 
adorned  with  brass  rings.  She  wore  a  necklace  of  cowry 
shells.  King  Mombo  stood  in  awe  before  the  idol ; 
he  spoke  to  Pangeo  and  told  him  how  much  he  loved 
him,  and  then  spoke  to  Aleha,  saying  the  same  to  her. 

After  that,  we  entered  the  house  of  Makambi  and 
Abiala.  Makambi  was  a  big  idol,  about  three  feet 
high.  He  wore  a  feather  headdress  and  held  a  spear 
in  his  hand  which  he  was  ready  to  throw  ;  his  eyes 
were  carved  and  painted  red. 

Abiala,  his  wife,  held  a  pistol  in  her  hand  —  which 
she  had  taken  from  her  husband,  as  Mombo  said  to 
me  in  a  whisper. 

The  king  stood  before  Makambi  and  Abiala  and 
told  them  how  much  he  loved  them  —  as  he  had  done 
to  Pangeo  and  Aleha.  "  You  know  I  love  you  both," 
he  added  in  a  loud  voice.  "  I  bring  to  you  the 
products  of  the  hunt  and  of  the  earth.  Take  good 
care  of  me  —  watch  over  me." 

After  leaving  the  house  of  Makambi  and  Abiala, 
King  Mombo  returned  to  his  house  and  I  to  mine. 

The  head  wife  of  King  Mombo  was  called  Ogan- 
daga ;  she  was  dressed  with  three  strings  of  beads  round 
her  waist,  and  wore  over  thirty  heavy  brass  rings  on 
each  of  her  legs.  She  it  was  who  cooked  the  food  of 
the  king. 

43 


KING    MOMBO 

Often  Mombo  would  walk  in  the  street  when  it  was 
quite  dark,  and  talk  about  me  to  his  people,  and  say 
how  much  he  loved  me.  Then  he  would  shout  aloud, 
so  that  all  his  people  could  hear:  "  Chally  the 
Oguizi,  I  love  you.  I  am  your  friend.  All  I  have 
is  yours  —  my  slaves  are  yours  —  my  plantations  are 
yours  —  my  wives  are  yours  —  my  daughters,  my 
sons,  and  my  nephews  are  yours.  You  can  say  to  them 
c  Follow  me/  and  they  will  all  follow  you.  Oguizi, 
all  my  people  love  you."  And  when  the  people  heard 
this,  they  would  shout  "Yo  —  yo."  ("That  is  so, 
that  is  so.") 

Not  far  from  King  Mombo's  sleeping-house,  and 
back  of  it,  was  a  strange  little  building  which  was  called 
the  Alumbi  house.  Every  time  I  saw  the  king  enter 
this  place  he  came  out  of  it  with  his  body  painted  with 
ochre  of  different  colors,  and  his  face  always  looked 
very  thoughtful.  When  inside  I  could  hear  him 
making  loud  invocations.  One  day  he  came  out 
more  daubed  than  I  had  ever  seen  him  before.  His 
body  was  covered  with  white,  red,  and  yellow.  I 
thought  he  looked  savage  and  awful. 

My  curiosity  became  very  much  aroused  in  regard 
to  the  Alumbi  house.  One  day,  as  King  Mombo  came 
out  of  it  I  went  up  to  him  and  said :  "  King,  show  me 
the  inside  of  the  Alumbi  house." 

44 


KING    MOMBO 

After  hearing  my  words,  he  looked  at  me,  as  if  trying 
to  read  my  thoughts.  He  remained  silent  for  a  little 
while,  and  then  said :  "  Oguizi,  you  can  go  inside  and 
see  for  yourself,  and  I  will  accompany  you."  He 
opened  the  door ;  we  entered,  and  he  shut  the  door 
behind  us. 

What  a  strange  and  unexpected  sight  met  my  eyes  ! 
Along  the  walls  were  large  cakes  of  colored  clay. 
These  were  black,  white,  and  of  different  shades  of 
yellow  and  red.  Upon  each  stood  the  skull  of  a  man 
which  seemed  to  look  at  me  and  say  :  "  What  are  you 
doing  in  our  abode?  You  do  not  belong  to  our  race." 
Mombo  marked  his  body  with  the  ochre  of  two  of  the 
cakes,  muttering  words  I  could  not  understand.  Then 
he  said  to  me  in  a  whisper:  "The  skulls  you  see 
here  are  those  of  my  kinsmen.  They  were  great  and 
valiant  men  in  their  day.  It  is  the  custom  in  our 
country  when  a  man  much  greater  than  all  other  men 
dies  to  cut  his  head  off  after  his  death  and  then  put  it 
on  a  cake  of  clay  and  let  it  decay  there.  Then  the 
mass  of  ochre  is  kneaded  together  and  dyed  and  the 
skull  is  always  kept  on  the  cake  that  belongs  to  it. 
Oh,  Oguizi,  these  skulls  belonged  to  great  forefathers  of 
mine.  They  were  never  afraid  of  war.  Here  on  the 
cake  of  white  clay  is  the  skull  of  Olenga-Yombee.  He 
died  a  very  old  man,  and  when  young  he  was  the 

45 


KING    MOMBO 

greatest  warrior  of  his  time.  He  founded  our  clan  and 
our  tribe.  He  was  the  most  dreaded  by  our  enemies  of 
all  their  foes.  He  burned  many  villages.  His  people 
believed  all  he  said,  for  he  was  wise.  He  had  many 
wives  and  many  slaves,  and  his  c  oyana '  [idol]  granted 
him  all  he  asked.  He  lived  about  three  hundred 
rainy  seasons  ago.  At  that  time  our  tribe  was  much 
further  inland,  towards  the  country  where  the  sun 
rises." 

Then,  pointing  out  to  me  a  cake  of  a  deep  yellow 
color,  he  said :  "  Oguizi,  the  skull  there  is  that  of 
Jombouay.  He  led  us  through  the  forest  and  had 
many  wars,  for  our  ancestors  had  to  fight  many  tribes 
who  opposed  them  before  coming  to  this  part  of  the 
forest  where  we  are  now  settled." 

When  he  had  finished  telling  the  history  of  the  men 
whose  skulls  were  before  me,  he  said :  cc  Oguizi,  the 
spirits  of  these  men  are  hovering  in  the  air  above  us ; 
when  I  invoke  them  to  protect  me  and  our  clan  and 
tribe,  they  come  round  us  and  protect  us.  They  have 
saved  my  life  many  times." 

Then  we  left  the  Alumbi  house.  That  evening 
Mombo  walked  in  the  street  of  the  village  and  invoked 
the  spirits  of  his  ancestors,  calling  each  by  name.  He 
invoked  especially  the  spirits  of  Olenga-Yombee  and 
of  Jombouay,  saying  to  them:  "Look  at  the  Oguizi; 

46 


KING    MOMBO 

you  never  saw  him  during  your  lives.  But  Mombo, 
your  kinsman,  has  him  in  his  village." 

The  following  day  King  Mombo  came  to  me  and 
said  :  "  Oguizi  I  want  you  to  eat  with  me  to-morrow  — 
I  will  have  the  fattest  of  my  goats  killed  and  some 
chickens.  These  will  be  cooked  in  fresh  palm  oil 
that  has  just  been  made."  "I  will,"  I  replied. 
Then  he  called  Ogandaga,  his  head  wife,  and  said  to 
her:  "  Prepare  a  meal  for  to-morrow.  Have  the  fat 
goat  killed  and  also  a  few  chickens,  for  the  Oguizi  and 
I  are  going  to  eat  together."  When  I  had  accepted  the 
invitation  we  separated,  the  king  looking  happier  than 
usual. 

Little  did  I  know  what  King  Mombo  intended  to 
do,  and  why  he  had  invited  me  to  eat  with  him,  and 
his  reasons  for  doing  so.  I  will  however  recount  to 
you  now  what  I  was  told  afterwards. 

The  following  day,  while  Ogandaga  was  cooking 
our  dinner,  Mombo  went  into  the  Alumbi  house  and 
took  in  his  hands  the  skull  of  his  great  ancestor, 
Olenga-Yombee,  and  said :  "  Olenga-Yombee,  my 
great  beloved  ancestor,  see  that  I  make  the  great 
Oguizi  love  me."  Then  he  scraped  with  a  knife  a 
little  of  the  forehead  of  the  skull.  The  scrapings  fell 
into  a  small  wooden  bowl  which  he  had  taken  with 
him.  He  replaced  the  skull  on  its  own  cake  of  ochre, 

47 


KING    MOMBO 

and  went  to  where  his  wife  was  cooking,  and  told  her 
to  go  and  fetch  a  bag  that  was  in  his  sleeping-house. 
When  she  had  gone  he  put  the  scrapings  of  the  skull 
of  Olenga-Yombee  into  the  pot  which  contained  the 
goat's-meat,  stirred  it  with  the  wooden  spoon  that  was 
near  by,  and  went  away. 

After  a  while  Ogandaga  told  us  that  the  meal  was 
ready.  The  bottom  of  a  canoe  put  on  two  mortars 
made  our  table  ;  baskets  on  which  were  large  leaves 
were  our  plates,  and  cocoanuts  cut  in  two  were  our 
glasses  ;  our  fingers  were  to  be  our  forks.  According 
to  the  custom  of  the  country,  Ogandaga  tasted  of 
every  dish  before  our  eyes,  and  drank  of  the  water 
that  was  in  the  jug  before  we  did,  and  then  bade  us 
eat  and  drink. 

The  king  and  I  sat  down  opposite  each  other. 
Then  he  gave  me  some  of  the  meat  of  the  goat  which 
had  been  served  in  a  wooden  dish  used  for  the  first 
time.  As  soon  as  he  saw  that  I  had  eaten  all  I  had  on 
my  plate  he  seemed  overjoyed,  for  now  he  was  sure  I 
would  love  him. 

Then  he  invoked  in  a  loud  voice  the  spirit  of  his 
great  ancestor,  Olenga-Yombee,  and  called  upon  him 
to  make  me  love  him. 

There  is  a  belief  amongst  the  people  that  after  the 
scraped  skull  is  in  the  body  it  turns  into  the  blood  of 

48 


"  The  king  and  I  sat  down  opposite  each  other  " 


KING    MOMBO 

that  ancestor,  which  then  becomes  part  of  your  own 
blood.  Hence  you  must  love  the  person  who  is  a 
descendant  of  the  man  to  whom  the  skull  belonged. 

The  whole  population  of  the  village  was  present 
while  we  were  eating,  and  shouted  :  "  Great  is  Mombo, 
the  friend  of  the  Oguizi !  " 

After  our  meal  the  king  disappeared  and  went  into 
the  Alumbi  house.  When  he  came  out,  his  appear- 
ance  had  quite  changed.  Now  his  body  was  painted 
in  different  colors.  He  was  covered  with  "  mondahs," 
or  charms.  He  was  chewing  some  of  the  clay  which 
dyed  his  lips  yellow.  Then  taking  my  two  hands,  he 
blew  the  ochre  from  his  mouth  upon  them  until  they 
were  entirely  covered  with  it,  and  invoked  the  spirits 
of  his  ancestors,  Kombe-Ratenon-Olenda  and  Olenga- 
Yombee,  to  be  my  friends,  and  watch  over  me. 

That  night  there  was  a  great  dance.  Singing  and 
dancing  went  on  together.  At  times  women  danced 
alone,  and  moved  the  muscles  of  their  bodies  in  most 
ridiculous  fashion.  At  other  times  men  and  women 
danced  and  sang  together.  The  noise  was  very  great, 
for  there  were  over  twenty  tomtoms  beating  at  the 
same  time. 


49 


CHAPTER   VIII 

BAD  LUCK  OF  MOMBO's  VILLAGE  —  ASCRIBED  TO  WITCH- 
CRAFT—ARRIVAL OF  A  GREAT  MEDICINE-MAN  — 
HIS  INCANTATIONS —THE  ACCUSED  SOLD  AS  SLAVES. 

THE  people  had  been  filled  for  some  time  with 
the  fear  of  witchcraft.  Two  men  had  died 
away  from  the  village ;  and,  since,  they  had  been  un- 
lucky in  fishing  and  hunting.  Certainly  all  this  could 
not  have  happened  without  some  one  wishing  the  vil- 
lage bad  luck.  A  great  medicine  doctor  living  far 
away  had  been  sent  for,  and  had  arrived,  and  the 
ceremony  to  find  out  who  were  the  sorcerers  was 
about  to  take  place. 

One  morning  King  Mombo  and  all  his  men  as- 
sembled to  listen  to  the  words  of  the  great  medicine- 
man, and  were  seated  cross-legged  on  the  ground 
around  him,  all  looking  excited  and  with  hatred  in 
their  eyes. 

The  medicine-man,  whose  reputation  for  power  to 
find  out  sorcerers  was  known  all  over  the  country,  was 
extremely  ugly  to  look  upon,  and  was  weirdly  dressed 
for  the  occasion.  His  teeth  were  filed  sharp  to  a 
point.  He  was  tall  and  slender,  and  about  fifty  years 

5° 


KING   MOMBO 

old.  He  had  a  treacherous  and  cunning  eye.  I 
could  tell  by  his  face  that  he  would  denounce  people 
as  guilty  of  witchcraft  about  whom  he  really  knew 
nothing.  His  head,  chest,  and  arms  were  painted  with 
sacred  ochre  of  different  colors,  likewise  his  eyelids. 
He  wore  around  his  waist  a  string  of  long  grass  upon 
which  were  hung  several  bells  of  iron.  Near  the  medi- 
cine-man was  the  horn  of  a  buffalo  filled  up  with  a  sort 
of  black  powder  made  of  skins  and  bones  of  snakes, 
dried  brains  of  monkeys,  and  intestines  of  rare  ani- 
mals. He  held  in  his  hand  a  wicker  rattle  filled 
with  snakes'  bones,  eagles'  talons  and  monkeys'  nails, 
which  he  shook  during  his  incantations. 

After  each  incantation  the  people  shouted,  "  Ou- 
ganga,  tell  us  who  are  sorcerers  amongst  us,  so  that 
we  may  kill  them." 

Another  man  was  on  the  top  of  a  slender  tree,  call- 
ing now  and  then  upon  Joko,  a  powerful  spirit,  and 
shaking  the  tree  at  the  same  time. 

The  medicine-man  remained  silent  for  awhile,  as  if 
in  deep  thought ;  then  he  made  all  kinds  of  contortions, 
and  muttered  unintelligible  words.  He  took  a  knife 
and  cut  his  hands  in  different  places.  The  blood  fell 
into  a  little  wooden  vessel,  and  he  looked  intently  at 
his  own  blood,  as  if  trying  to  find  out  something  ;  then 
he  danced,  the  queer  bells  round  his  waist  making  a 

5' 


KING   MOMBO 

strange  sound.  The  people  kept  shouting:  "Tell 
us,  Ouganga,  who  are  the  witches  and  sorcerers  that 
have  brought  bad  luck  to  us  in  the  hunt  and  in  fish- 
ing, who  made  some  of  our  people  sick,  and  some  of 
our  people  die  ?  Ouganga,  drink  the  f  mboundou,' 
then  you  will  be  able  to  tell  us  who  they  are." 

Then  roots  of  a  tree  called  the  "  mboundou  "  were 
laid  at  his  feet,  and  also  a  wooden  bowl  filled  with 
water.  The  ouganga  scraped  the  root  of  the  "  mboun- 
dou "  into  the  water,  which  turned  the  color  of  the  root, 
which  was  reddish,  and  then  bubbled.  He  made  in- 
cantations, and  then  drank  the  potion.  Soon  after  his 
countenance  changed,  his  eyes  became  bloodshot  and 
glared.  His  veins  swelled,  and  he  looked  as  if  he 
were  drunk.  Such  was  the  effect  of  the  "  mboundou  " 
upon  him. 

A  man  from  the  village  named  several  of  their  own 
people  whom  they  suspected  of  being  sorcerers,  and 
asked  the  ouganga  to  say  if  they  were  the  ones.  The 
ouganga  seemed  at  first  to  speak  incoherently.  Then 
he  said :  "  There  are  no  witches  or  sorcerers  in  your  own 
village.  The  guilty  ones  are  living  in  another  village." 

At  these  words  they  shouted  with  one  voice  :  "  Tell 
us  their  names  and  the  name  of  the  village,  for  we 
want  to  make  war  on  that  village,  unless  they  deliver 
up  the  sorcerers  to  us." 

52 


KING    MOMBO 

Then  the  hollow  voice  of  the  ouganga  was  heard 
saying  :  "  Okabi  and  Aquailay  are  those  who  are  sor- 
cerers. They  are  full  of  witchcraft." 

"  Death  to  Okabi  and  Aquailay  ! "  shouted  the 
people. 

Okabi  and  Aquailay  lived  in  a  neighboring  village, 
and  were  well  known  to  all  present,  and,  moreover, 
whispers  charging  them  with  sorcery  had  been  rife 
for  several  years. 

That  night  there  was  a  great  war-dance.  The 
people  invoked  their  guardian  spirits.  The  next  day 
they  were  going  to  get  Okabi  and  Aquailay  and 
make  them  stand  the  "mboundou"  trial,  and  if  the 
people  of  the  village  where  these  two  men  lived  re- 
fused to  deliver  them  up,  then  they  would  make  war 
upon  them  and  take  them  by  force.  Not  only  must 
the  two  men  be  delivered,  but  indemnity,  in  the  form 
of  slaves,  must  be  given  for  the  mischief,  deaths,  sick- 
ness, and  bad  luck  generally  these  two  men  were  sup- 
posed to  have  caused. 

The  next  day,  however,  on  their  formal  request,  the 
two  men  were  at  once  delivered  up  by  their  people,  who 
had  long  suspected  them  of  witchcraft.  The  brother 
of  Okabi  came  and  talked  in  his  behalf,  and  finally, 
after  a  most  eloquent  speech,  persuaded  the  people 
not  to  kill  them,  but  to  sell  them  as  slaves.  This 

53 


KING  MOMBO 

was  acquiesced  in  by  the  leading  people  of  the  two 
towns,  and  it  was  arranged  that  the  relatives  of  the 
two  men  should  share  equally  the  proceeds  of  the  sale. 
Both  were  to  pay  a  certain  part  of  their  goods  to  the 
families  of  the  men  who  had  died.  The  accused  could 
have  submitted  to  the  ordeal  of  trial  by  "  mboundou  "- 
drinking  —  which  is  almost  always  mortal,  except  to 
doctors  —  but  they  preferred  to  be  sold  as  slaves. 


54 


CHAPTER    IX 

KING  MOMBO  GIVES  ME  THE  STICK.  "  OMEMBA  "  —  I 
LEAVE  THE  VILLAGE  ON  A  HUNTING  TRIP—  PART- 
ING INJUNCTIONS—  A  HERD  OF  HIPPOPOTAMI. 

SOME  days  after  the  sorcery  trial  King  Mombo 
sent  for  me. 

When  I  arrived  I  saw  that  there  were  a  great  many 
people  who  had  come  from  many  different  villages. 
The  king  was  seated,  and  bade  me  sit  by  his  side. 
He  had  an  old  silk  hat  on  his  head.  His  coat  was 
split  up  the  back  to  let  the  air  in.  Then  ensued  a 
great  silence  ;  no  one  dared  to  speak. 

King  Mombo  rose.  He  held  a  stick  in  his  hand, 
and  said  to  me :  "  Oguizi,  the  stick  I  hold  in  my 
hand  is  known  all  over  my  country  as  belonging  to 
me,  and  when  I  send  word  anywhere  I  send  it  with 
the  messenger.  This  stick  is  called  c  Omemba,'  the 
snake,  for  it  is  twisted,  and  the  carved  head  of  a  snake 
is  at  the  top.  Whoever  carries  c  Omemba'  is  my  rep- 
resentative, and  my  people  have  to  listen  to  him. 
Take  this  stick,  and  wherever  you  go  carry  it  with 
you." 

55 


KING    MOMBO 

Then  he  handed  me  "  Omemba,"  in  the  midst  of 
great  shouts  of  approbation  from  his  people  and  of 
the  beating  of  the  tomtoms. 

"  When  you  leave  the  country,  return  c  Omemba'  to 
me/*  added  the  king. 

I  thanked  Mombo  for  his  important  gift,  and  the 
people  dispersed. 

A  few  days  after  I  had  received  "  Omemba,"  I 
went  to  King  Mombo,  and  said  to  him,  "  I  am  going  to 
leave  you  soon.  I  wish  to  go  all  alone  in  a  small  canoe, 
so  do  not  be  astonished,  if,  when  you  awake  some 
morning,  you  find  that  I  am  gone,  but  I  shall  not  fail, 
before  I  leave  your  country,  to  bring  back  c  Omemba ' 
to  you,  and  say  good-by." 

Then  I  prepared  my  outfit  and  packed  the  things  I 
wanted,  among  them  a  small  round  Waterbury  clock, 
a  powerful  magnet,  a  music-box,  and  lots  of  matches, 
for  these  things  added  much  to  my  power.  When 
the  people  heard  the  clock  and  music-box,  they  thought 
they  were  spirits  talking  to  me,  and  were  full  of  won- 
der, and  often  afraid  of  them. 

I  took  some  ammunition  and  fish  hooks,  for  I  had  to 
depend  on  fishing  and  hunting  for  my  food.  I  had 
also  some  brass  rods,  and  quite  a  number  of  bright- 
colored  beads  to  give  away  to  those  who  were  friendly 
to  me,  for  I  should  very  soon  have  become  a  very 

56 


KING    MOMBO 

poor  oguizi  if  I  had  had  nothing  to  give  them.  I 
also  took  a  frying-pan,  some  quinine,  and  salt. 

Among  my  weapons  I  had  a  double-barrelled  breech- 
loading  rifle,  which  I  loved  better  than  all  my  other 
rifles,  for  it  was  the  most  powerful  weapon  I  had.  .  I 
could  load  it  either  with  steel  pointed  bullets,  or  with 
explosive  shells.  I  had  named  this  rifle  "  Bulldog." 
The  only  fault  I  found  with  "  Bulldog  "  was  that  it 
was  too  heavy  to  carry,  for  it  weighed  sixteen  pounds, 
on  account  of  the  thickness  of  the  barrels  and  of  its  large 
calibre.  "  Bulldog  "  was  somewhat  short.  When  I 
carried  it  I  always  had  a  feeling  that  I  was  with 
my  best  friend,  and  one  I  could  rely  upon  in  case 
of  great  danger.  No  matter  how  huge  or  fierce  the 
animals  I  encountered  might  be,  I  felt  that  "  Bull- 
dog "  could  kill  them,  for  the  steel-pointed  bullets 
were  large  and  powerful,  and  I  had  found  out  that  they 
could  pierce  through  four  or  five  inches,  and  even 
more,  of  the  hardest  wood.  So  I  knew  what  "  Bull- 
dog "  could  do.  This  feeling  gave  me  confidence, 
and  I  aimed  with  greater  steadiness,  and  I  knew  I  had 
a  shot  to  spare  in  case  of  merely  wounding  an  animal. 

"Bulldog"  was  well  known  among  my  native 
hunters,  who  looked  at  it  with  wonder  and  superstitious 
awe.  They  were  always  glad  when  "c  Bulldog*  was 
going  with  us.  They  used  to  say,  "  c  Bulldog  *  never 

57 


KING    MOMBO 

misses,  and  always  brings  death  in  its  path.  The  ele- 
phants, hippopotami,  and  all  the  wild  beasts  fall 
dead  when  hit  by  the  bullets  of  c  Bulldog.'  "  They 
knew  "Bulldog"  among  all  my  other  rifles,  and 
there  was  always  great  rejoicing  among  my  men  when, 
before  our  departure,  I  said  to  one  of  them,  "  Go  and 
fetch  c  Bulldog/  and  carry  it  until  we  reach  the 
hunting-ground,"  or  when  I  carried  it  myself.  "  Bull- 
dog" was  so  heavy  that  by  the  end  of  the  day  my 
shoulders,  especially  my  left  one,  felt  very  sore.  In 
the  course  of  time  my  left  shoulder  became  quite  black 
from  the  effects  of  carrying  "  Bulldog,"  and  other  guns. 
A  gun  that  is  quite  light  to  carry  the  first  hour  be- 
comes heavy  enough  by  the  end  of  the  day. 

The  eve  of  my  departure  I  called  Ogandaga,  the 
head  wife  of  King  Mombo,  and  pointing  out  a  box  to 
her,  I  said :  <c  Here  is  a  box  which  is  very  precious, 
and  I  want  you  to  take  care  of  it.  No  man  or  woman 
must  open  it  —  neither  King  Mombo,  nor  yourself — 
for  misfortune  will  befall  whoever  opens  it.  This 
precious  box  was  of  tin,  waterproof,  and  contained 
the  scientific  instruments  and  books  necessary  to  find 
my  latitude  and  longitude,  also  the  days  of  the  week, 
of  the  month,  the  exact  time  in  Greenwich  or 
Washington,  and  wherever  I  was.  In  that  box  were 
also  four  watches,  which  had  been  made  especially  for 

58 


"Then  he  banded  me  ^Omemba '  " 


KING    MOMBO 

use  in  astronomical  observations.  Ogandaga  said  that 
she  would  take  great  care  of  the  precious  box,  and 
then,  pointing  out  to  her  all  the  boxes  containing  my 
goods,  I  said :  "  These  are  also  under  your  care."  I 
gave  her  a  beautiful  necklace  of  large  beads,  for  which 
she  thanked  me,  and  went  away,  and  soon  after  re- 
turned with  a  slave  to  take  the  precious  box  to  her 
house. 

Then  I  called  King  Mombo,  and  said  to  him  :  "All 
my  things  that  you  see  here  I  leave  in  care  of  Ogan- 
daga.'* "They  are  safe,"  he  replied. 

That  evening  the  king  walked  from  one  end  of  the 
village  to  the  other,  and  shouted,  so  that  everybody 
could  hear :  "  The  Oguizi  will  soon  leave  us  for  a 
while.  I  and  Ogandaga  will  take  care  of  his  things 
during  his  absence.  Let  no  one  ever  dare  to  touch 
them,  and  if  any  one  tries  to  take  any  of  them,  he 
will  have  his  head  cut  off." 

The  people  answered :  "  He  is  our  Oguizi.  His 
things  are  safe,  and  would  be  even  if  we  were  not 
threatened  with  having  our  heads  cut  off." 

Towards  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  by  moonlight, 
and  when  every  one  was  asleep,  I  carried  my  outfit 
to  a  small  canoe  made  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  and 
departed,  paddling  along  the  shore  of  the  river.  Just 
at  daylight  I  heard  the  grunt  of  the  hippopotami. 

59 


KING   MOMBO 

These  animals  are  called  river  horses,  because  their 
heads  in  a  certain  profile  look  very  much  like  that  of 
a  horse. 

At  the  sight  of  my  canoe  they  gave  a  peculiar  grunt 
and  disappeared  under  the  water  and  reappeared  some- 
where else,  and  did  this  several  times.  At  times  they 
rose  so  near  me  that  I  was  afraid  they  would  rise  right 
under  my  canoe  and  overturn  it.  Then  they  might 
come  and  attack  me  in  the  water,  which  certainly 
would  have  been  the  end  of  me.  Further  on  I  met 
several  other  herds,  but  kept  quite  out  of  their  way. 

Leaving  the  hippopotami  behind  me  I  continued 
my  way,  when  suddenly  I  thought  I  heard  the  sound 
of  paddles  and  of  human  voices.  I  pulled  my  canoe 
as  fast  as  I  could  among  the  thick  reeds  which  lined 
the  banks  of  the  river,  and  was  soon  out  of  sight. 
I  was  hardly  there  when  I  thought  of  crocodiles.  It 
was  just  the  spot  for  them,  for  the  river  was  here  slug- 
gish and  with  muddy  banks.  I  felt  very  uncomforta- 
ble, for  my  canoe  was  not  so  very  much  above 
water  and  I  might  be  attacked  by  a  crocodile,  hid- 
ing among  the  reeds.  They  are  very  voracious  when 
hungry. 

The  voices  came  nearer  and  I  saw  a  large  canoe 
through  a  small  opening.  I  counted  twenty  paddlers 
and  saw  three  captives  fettered  with  chains  round 

60 


"The  voices  came  nearer  and  I  saw  a  large  canoe" 


KING    MOMBO 

their  necks.  They  were  evidently  slaves  that  came 
from  some  tribes  further  up  the  river.  I  waited 
a  while  and  when  I  thought  the  canoe  was  out  of 
sight  I  left  my  hidingplace. 

I  paddled  close  to  the  shore,  often  under  the  over- 
hanging branches  of  the  trees.  I  began  to  notice  that 
a  large  eagle  was  following  me,  soaring  above  my 
head.  Not  knowing  exactly  what  the  eagle  intended 
to  do,  and  becoming  suspicious  that  the  big  bird  of 
prey  might  perhaps  pounce  upon  me  and  tear  my 
eyes  out,  I  stopped,  put  my  shot-gun  to  my  shoulder 
and,  as  the  great  bird  soared  over  my  head,  I  fired. 
The  eagle  uttered  a  scream,  then  plunged  downward 
and  fell  into  the  water  near  me.  I  took  his  talons 
as  a  trophy. 

Ere-long  it  became  so  hot  that  I  filled  my  panama 
hat  with  green  leaves  and  dipped  it  now  and  then  into 
the  water  to  keep  my  head  cool.  Further  along  the 
heat  became  so  great  that  I  hauled  my  canoe  ashore 
to  rest  in  the  shade  of  the  forest.  I  found  a  rivulet 
of  clear  water  close  by,  and  there  I  lighted  a  fire  and 
roasted  two  plantains  and  a  part  of  a  monkey  King 
Mombo  had  given  me.  Then  I  lay  under  a  tree  and 
soon  after  fell  asleep  with  "  Bulldog "  in  my  arms. 
When  I  awoke  I  looked  at  my  watch  —  it  was  three 
o'clock.  Soon  after,  I  was  paddling  again.  I  was  so 

61 


KING    MOMBO 

interested  in  looking  round  that  the  time  passed 
quickly.  The  height  of  the  sun  warned  me  that  in 
about  one  hour  more  it  would  be  sunset,  and  dark 
shortly  afterwards,  for  under  or  near  the  equator  the 
days  and  the  nights  are  about  equal,  and  it  is  nearly 
twelve  hours  between  sunrise  and  sunset. 

A  short  time  after  I  saw  a  few  plantain  trees  on  the 
shore  of  a  small  creek.  I  paddled  in  their  direction, 
when,  a  little  further  on,  hundreds  of  plantain  trees 
came  in  sight  —  then  I  saw  a  path  through  them, 
and  hauling  my  canoe  by  its  side,  I  landed,  taking 
"  Omemba  "  and  "  Bulldog  "  with  me. 


62 


CHAPTER  X 

SOUNDS  OF  HUMAN  VOICES  —  I  ENCOUNTER  REGUNDO 
AND  HIS  WIFE,  SLAVES  OF  KING  MOMBO  —  OTHER 
SLAVES— HUNTERS  AND  WARRIORS  OF  MOMBO. 

T  FOLLOWED  the  path.  I  had  hardly  walked 
•*•  fifteen  steps  when  I  heard  the  sound  of  an  axe  — 
some  one  evidently  was  chopping  wood.  The  path 
was  a  well  beaten  one,  showing  that  many  people 
passed  over  it.  The  sound  made  by  the  axe  became 
louder  and  louder  as  I  advanced  inland.  Then  I 
heard  human  voices,  and  stopped  to  listen.  After 
a  while  I  found  that  two  people  were  talking  to  each 
other,  but  I  was  too  far  away  to  hear  the  language 
they  spoke.  I  wondered  if  these  two  people  would 
be  friendly,  or  would  run  away  at  sight  of  me. 

I  advanced  cautiously,  and  soon  saw  the  roof  of  a 
house,  then  the  whole  house,  which  had  a  veranda ;  and 
under  the  veranda  were  a  man  and  a  woman  talking 
to  each  other.  The  house  was  built  of  the  bark  of 
trees.  The  man  was  gray-headed,  the  woman  likewise  ; 
they  were  almost  naked  and  only  wore  a  little  strip  of 
soft  bark  round  their  loins. 

63 


KING    MOMBO 

I  appeared  suddenly  before  them,  so  that  they  did 
not  even  have  time  to  rise.  Both  looked  at  me,  ap- 
pearing dumbfounded.  They  tried  to  get  up,  but  fear 
had  paralyzed  both  and  they  could  not  rise.  I  showed 
to  them  "  Omemba,  "  the  stick  of  King  Mombo,  which 
they  recognized  at  once.  Then  I  saluted  them  in  the 
Commi  language  by  saying,  "Mbolo."  They  an- 
swered, "  A-ee,"  and  returned  the  salutation  by  saying 
"Mbolo,"  and  I  answered  "  A-ee."  This  is  the  mode 
of  salutation  in  King  Mombo's  country. 

The  sight  of  "Omemba"  had  somewhat  calmed 
their  fears.  I  saw  by  their  appearance  that  they  were 
slaves,  for  both  had  their  front  teeth  filed  to  a  point. 
The  Commi  people  do  not  file  theirs  —  these  two 
people  came  evidently  from  a  far  country.  The  man 
said  to  me,  in  the  Commi  language,  "  Both  my  wife 
and  I  are  slaves  of  King  Mombo,  and  many  more 
slaves  owned  by  him  are  in  the  neighborhood,  on  dif- 
ferent plantations." 

His  wife  went  inside  of  her  house  and  brought  me 
out  a  stool  and  the  tail  of  an  elephant  to  kill  the  flies 
which  bothered  me,  and  they  both  bade  me  welcome 
and  asked  me  to  stay  with  them. 

Strange  indeed  was  the  appearance  of  Regundo,  for 
such  was  the  man's  name.  One  side  of  his  face  was 
painted  with  red  ochre,  the  other  with  white ;  a  broad 

64 


KING    MOMBO 

yellow  stripe  adorned  the  middle  of  his  chest ;  the  cir- 
cuits of  his  eyes  were  also  daubed  with  color.  In  the 
middle  of  his  forehead  was  a  round,  white  spot.  He 
had  evidently  just  made  his  toilet,  for  the  colors 
looked  fresh.  He  was  also  covered  with  charms  or 
"mondahs."  His  wife's  face  was  also  painted.  She 
wore  large  iron  rings  in  her  ears. 

On  the  roof  of  Regundo's  house  were  skulls  of  an- 
telopes with  their  horns,  skulls  of  wild  boars,  leopards, 
monkeys,  and  other  animals,  evidently  apes,  unknown 
to  me,  but  the  heads  of  which  resembled,  somewhat, 
human  heads.  Six  large  elephants'  skulls  were  lying 
in  front  of  the  veranda  —  under  which  hung  in  a  line 
sixty-three  elephants'  tails. 

As  I  was  looking  at  them,  Regundo  said,  "  These  are 
the  tails  of  the  elephants  I  have  killed.  I  have  been  a 
great  hunter  all  my  life,  but  now  I  have  given  up 
hunting,  and  I  send  but  very  little  game  to  my  master, 
King  Mombo.  But  there  are  hunters  here  who 
are  younger  than  I  am,  and  who  go  much  into  the 
forest  in  search  of  elephants  and  other  game." 

While  Regundo  was  talking  his  wife  went  away, 
but  soon  returned  with  a  chicken  that  was  a  kind  of 
bantam,  tied  by  the  legs,  a  basket  of  sweet  potatoes, 
a  bunch  of  plantains,  and  four  eggs,  and  laid  these  at 
my  feet.  My  talking  to  them  in  a  language  they 
5  65 


KING    MOMBO 

could  understand,  and  the  sight  of  "  Omemba,"  had 
reconciled  them  to  me.  They  had  also  heard,  before 
I  came,  that  I  was  a  great  friend  of  King  Mombo. 

I  looked  round.  I  saw,  at  a  little  distance,  a  num- 
ber of  small  houses  together,  also  built  of  the  bark  of 
trees.  As  soon  as  Regundo  saw  me  looking  at  them 
he  said:  "Those  are  houses  of  slaves  belonging  to 
King  Mombo.  He  has  many  slaves  ;  some  of  them 
are  old,  and  he  has  inherited  them  from  one  of  his 
brothers." 

He  had  hardly  uttered  these  words  when  I  saw  a 
number  of  men  and  women  coming  towards  the 
houses.  The  women  carried  heavy  bunches  of  plan- 
tains, or  baskets  filled  with  manioc  roots.  Most  of 
the  men  had  axes  with  them,  and  were  returning  from 
the  forest,  where  they  had  been  felling  trees  for  new 
plantations. 

"  Those  people  are  the  slaves  of  King  Mombo," 
said  Regundo.  "  There  are  others  that  live  further 
on  in  the  forest.  The  brothers  of  the  king,  and  some 
of  his  people,  also  have  plantations  and  slaves  not  very 
far  from  here,  higher  up  the  river  and  in  the  forest." 

I  went  towards  them,  and  when  they  saw  me  they 
stood  still.  I  raised  "  Omemba,"  which  they  recog- 
nized at  once  as  the  stick  of  King  Mombo,  their  mas- 
ter, and  which  reassured  them. 

66 


KING    MOMBO 

These  slaves,  from  their  appearance,  seemed  to  be- 
long to  many  different  tribes.  Some  belonged  to 
tribes  which  filed  their  front  teeth  sharp  to  a  point. 
Others  had  their  four  upper  and  lower  front  teeth 
pulled,  this  being  considered  beautiful  among  some 
tribes.  Some  had  two  upper  middle  front  teeth  some- 
what filed  in  the  middle.  They  also  varied  in  the  color 
of  their  skins  ;  some  were  quite  black,  others  less  so, 
and  some  dark-brown  color.  Many  shaved  their  eye- 
brows, and  two  women  wore  rings  in  their  noses. 

They  were  all  more  or  less  tattooed.  This  form  of 
adornment  among  the  Africans  is  not  done  without 
pain  ;  the  skin  is  cut  in  such  a  manner  that  it  is  made 
to  stand  up  in  small  ridges. 

Regundo  soon  rejoined  me,  and  told  the  slaves  that 
the  great  Oguizi,  of  whom  they  had  heard,  was  before 
them. 

When  I  was  talking  to  these  slaves,  four  or  five 
men  made  their  appearance.  They  looked  like  great 
warriors.  They  carried  with  them  long,  single- 
barrelled  flint-lock  guns,  of  heavy  calibre  —  the  only 
kind  of  guns  the  natives  like.  They  are  called 
"  tower  guns,"  and  are  made  in  England  especially 
for  the  West  African  trade. 

They  were  followed  by  queer-looking  hunting  dogs, 
which  at  once  began  to  bark  furiously  at  me. 

67 


KING    MOMBO 

These  dogs  seemed  half  starved,  they  were  so  lean. 
They  had  short  hair,  straight  ears,  a  somewhat  elon- 
gated muzzle,  with  powerful  jaws  and  sharp  teeth. 
Their  tails  were  curly,  a  sign  of  their  being  thorough- 
bred. They  were  not  large,  and  had  rather  long  legs 
for  their  size.  They  were  yellow  and  white,  or  black 
and  white.  Some  were  almost  all  of  one  color. 

Then  Regundo,  pointing  to  one  of  these  four  men, 
said  :  "  This  man  is  Oshoria ;  he  is  the  greatest  hunter 
among  us  all,  and  knows  not  what  fear  is.  He  hunts 
all  the  time,  and  spends  many  days  in  the  forest  by 
himself;  and  when  he  finds  no  game  he  has  to  feed 
on  berries,  nuts,  and  fruit.  He  knows  every  part  of 
the  forest  for  a  long  way." 

I  looked  at  Oshoria.  He  was  a  fine-looking  man, 
about  five  feet  seven  in  height,  well  proportioned,  with 
broad  chest,  and  strong,  muscular  arms  and  legs,  and 
small  feet.  He  had  broad,  thick  lips,  deep,  searching, 
and  suspicious-looking  eyes,  which  seemed  to  look  all 
round  at  the  same  time,  as  if  expecting  danger  every- 
where, and  he  had  a  very  determined  face.  He  was 
not  much  tattooed.  His  teeth  were  not  filed.  After 
eying  him  I  said  to  myself:  "Regundo  is  right. 
The  whole  appearance  of  Oshoria  shows  that  he  is 
a  cool  and  brave  man,  who  knows  not  what  fear  is." 

Then  Regundo,  pointing  out  three  other  men, 

68 


He  had  a  very  determined  face" 


KING    MOMBO 

who  had  come  with  Oshoria,  said  to  me  :  "  These 
three  men  are  great  hunters  also,  and  the  equal  of 
Oshoria  in  fearlessness,  but  are  not  quite  as  successful 
in  killing  game.  Their  names  are  Ogoola,  Ngola,  and 
Quabi.  When  King  Mombo  makes  war,  he  always 
calls  upon  these  four  men  to  follow  him,  and  they  are 
always  in  his  canoe." 

I  looked  at  Ngola.  He  was  tall,  very  thin,  of  red- 
dish-black color,  with  piercing  eyes  and  a  bold,  daring 
countenance.  The  scars  on  his  body  showed  that  he 
had  followed  King  Mombo  in  war.  One  cut  on  one 
of  his  shoulders  had  been  a  terrible  one,  judging  from 
the  scar,  and  had  been  inflicted  by  a  heavy  machete. 

Quabi  was  thick  and  short,  the  counterpart  of 
Ngola,  and  was  very  black.  No  negro  could  have 
been  blacker.  He  was  blue-black.  He  also  had 
scars  on  his  body  —  from  the  wounds  he  had  received 
when  he  followed  King  Mombo  in  warfare.  He 
came  from  a  far  country  and  had  been  sold  by  his 
relations  when  very  young,  so  he  had  forgotten  the 
language  of  his  people.  By  merely  looking  at  him 
one  could  see  that  he  was  brave. 

Ogoola  was  of  medium  height,  with  a  bold  counte- 
nance, a  real  fighting  chin ;  his  eyes  like  those  of 
Oshoria  seemed  to  look  all  around  at  the  same  time  in 
the  same  wandering  and  restless  way.  No  scars  were 


KING    MOMBO 

to  be  seen  on  his  body,  for  he  was  so  quick  of  motion 
and  so  expert  with  his  shield  that  no  spears,  arrows,  or 
bullets  had  ever  been  able  to  strike  him.  So  quick 
were  his  eyes  when  watching  the  motions  of  his  an- 
tagonist, that  he  seemed  always  to  guess  the  time  when 
a  spear  was  thrown  or  an  arrow  shot  or  a  gun  fired 
at  him.  Then  he  would  either  jump  sideways,  or  bend 
low,  or  even  fall  on  the  ground  to  escape  the  shot.  He 
attributed  his  escape  to  a  powerful  "  mondah,"  or 
charm,  in  which  he  had  great  faith.  He  was  of  medium 
height,  and  he  had  come  into  the  possession  of  King 
Mombo  when  a  boy. 

"  No  leopard,"  said  Regundo  to  me, cc  can  approach 
its  prey  as  these  hunters  can  the  wild  beasts.  They 
are  the  bravest  and  best  hunters  of  King  Mombo." 

I  called  these  four  fierce-looking  fellows  to  me  and 
shook  hands  with  them.  They  looked  shyly  at  me, 
for  they  had  never  seen  a  white  man  before,  though 
Regundo  had.  I  gave  each  of  them  a  steel  disc  and 
a  flint,  to  make  fire  with,  with  which  they  were 
delighted.  When  I  returned  to  Regundo's  house  his 
wife  had  prepared  a  meal  for  me  of  boiled  antelope 
meat  and  plantains.  In  the  meantime  she  had  made 
ready  the  little  house  that  I  was  to  occupy  while  with 
them.  It  was  quite  small,  about  nine  feet  long  and 
six  feet  wide.  The  walls,  made  of  bark,  were  about 

70 


KING    MOMBO 

five  feet  in  height,  the  top  of  the  roof  about  eight  feet, 
and  made  of  palm  leaves;  the  sticks  supporting  the 
leaves  were  close  together  and  made  very  secure  to 
prevent  leopards  at  night  getting  through  and  seizing 
the  inmates  in  their  sleep.  The  door  was  made  of 
the  bottom  of  an  old  canoe. 

Being  tired,  I  bade  good-night  to  Regundo,  who 
handed  me  a  lighted  torch,  and  after  getting  inside  I 
looked  carefully  all  round  and  under  the  bed  to  see  if 
there  were  snakes,  scorpions,  or  centipedes  about. 
Then  I  lay  down  to  sleep  without  undressing,  wearing 
my  shoes.  I  took  my  two  revolvers  from  my  belt 
and  put  them  under  my  head,  and  laid  "  Bulldog " 
by  my  side.  Such  was  the  way  I  went  to  sleep 
almost  every  night,  and  even  without  fearing  danger, 
prudence  made  me  do  so.  In  that  way  I  was  ready 
for  a  fight  at  once  in  case  of  any  sudden  emergency. 
As  I  fell  asleep  I  heard  the  voice  of  Regundo  calling 
on  the  spirits  of  his  ancestors. 


CHAPTER   XI 

WONDER  OF  THE  NATIVES  AT  MY  WATERBURY  CLOCK, 
MAGNET,  MATCHES  AND  MUSIC-BOX  —  CHARACTER 
OF  MOMBO'S  PLANTATION. 


following  morning  I  got  up  before  any  one, 
-*-  and  immediately  wound  my  Waterbury  clock 
and  hung  it  on  the  wall  under  the  veranda.  "  Tick- 
tock,"  it  went.  Close  to  it  I  put  my  music-box, 
which  immediately  began  to  play,  my  magnet,  and  a 
box  of  matches.  Then  I  went  back  into  my  little 
house  and  kept  quiet  there  watching  through  a  crack 
to  see  what  would  happen  outside. 

After  a  while  Regundo  came  out.  The  noise  of 
the  clock  and  of  the  music-box  attracted  his  attention. 
He  looked  at  them  with  wonder,  but  did  not  dare  to 
approach  them.  He  went  to  his  house  and  soon 
came  back  with  his  wife,  and  the  two  kept  looking  and 
listening  to  the  music  and  the  tick  of  the  clock.  Soon 
Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola  and  Quabi  made  their 
appearance  and  these  warriors,  who  had  faced  death 
so  many  times  without  fear,  were  afraid.  They  all 
remained  silent  and  spellbound  before  the  Waterbury 
clock  and  the  music-box. 

72 


KING    MOMBO 

I  came  out  and  we  saluted  each  other.  Regundo, 
pointing  with  his  finger  to  the  clock,  said :  "  Oguizi, 
are  there  many  spirits  in  this  box  ?  Are  they  speak- 
ing to  you  now,  or  are  they  talking  among  them- 
selves?" 

I  did  not  answer,  but  laughed  at  his  question.  Then 
they  all  went  away. 

It  is  wonderful  how  fast  news  travels  in  the  forest, 
and  the  news  of  my  arrival,  and  of  the  clock,  the  music- 
box,  and  the  matches  had  spread  far  and  wide,  and 
all  the  slaves  of  King  Mombo,  of  his  brothers,  and  of 
other  great  men  of  the  neighborhood  came  in  the 
afternoon  to  see  the  Oguizi  and  the  wonderful  things 
he  had  with  him. 

Quite  a  change  had  taken  place  in  the  appearance 
of  all  the  women  from  the  day  before.  They  had 
made  their  toilet  in  order  to  appear  beautiful  before 
me.  They  had  rubbed  their  bodies  with  a  compound 
called  "  yombo,"  composed  of  oil  and  the  powder 
made  from  a  kind  of  odoriferous  red  wood  which  made 
their  bodies  fragrant ;  each  wore  a  string  of  beads 
round  her  waist;  their  hair  was  filled  with  little  clay- 
balls  of  the  size  of  peas  mixed  with  "  yombo."  They 
were  more  or  less  tattooed.  Some  had  tattooing  peculiar 
to  the  tribe  to  which  they  belonged,  which  was  thought 
most  beautiful  among  the  people  who  used  it.  Some 

73 


KING   MOMBO 

had  two  broad  stripes  made  of  a  mass  of  small  spots 
drawn  from  the  back  of  the  neck,  joining  another 
broad  stripe  imitating  a  belt  which  went  round  their 
waists.  Others  had  different  figures  on  their  stomachs, 
others  broad  stripes  starting  from  their  shoulders, 
forming  a  triangle  with  the  apex  downward. 

Each  woman  brought  a  present  of  food  to  me, 
a  bunch  of  plantains,  or  a  chicken,  a  basket  of  sweet 
potatoes,  of  peanuts,  or  eggs.  I  thanked  them  for 
their  gifts  and  gave  to  each  a  string  of  beads  to  put 
round  her  waist.  Then  Regundo  gave  me  a  goat. 
Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola,  Quabi,  laid  before  me  a 
huge  python  about  eighteen  feet  long,  two  monkeys,  a 
gazelle  they  had  killed  in  the  morning,  and  said, 
"Oguizi,  eat  those."  And  the  crowd  shouted,  "  You 
shall  never  be  hungry  while  you  are  with  us." 

Suddenly  a  man  I  had  not  seen  before  made  his 
appearance.  I  noticed  that  the  people  looked  upon 
him  with  reverence.  He  was  entirely  covered  with 
charms,  and  his  body  was  painted  in  different  colors. 
He  was  old,  tall,  very  dark,  his  teeth  had  been  filed  to 
a  point.  His  body  was  tattooed  all  over  with  strange 
figures  of  beasts  and  men.  His  name  was  Angooka, 
and  he  was  a  great  medicine-man  who  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  making  most  powerful  charms  by  incantations. 
He  made  "  mondahs  "  to  protect  men  against  witch- 

74 


KING    MOMBO 

craft,  and  to  make  them  invulnerable  against  spears, 
arrows,  or  bullets ;  others  of  his  "  mondahs "  were 
supposed  to  give  long  life,  and  luck  in  hunting  and 
fishing.  When  men  started  for  warlike  or  hunting 
expeditions,  they  would  always  send  for  Angooka 
beforehand,  and  after  numerous  incantations  he  would 
tell  whether  they  should  go  or  not.  Above  all  he 
could  find  out  who  were  sorcerers  or  witches. 

Angooka,  who  was  on  one  of  his  plantations,  had 
come  with  his  slaves  to  see  the  Oguizi.  The  first  thing 
he  did  was  to  look  at  the  clock  and  music-box  and 
listen  to  them ;  but  after  all,  though  a  great  medicine- 
man, he  was  not  braver  than  the  rest  of  the  people  on 
this  occasion  and  he  would  not  come  near  the  clock 
or  music-box. 

To  all  the  natives  the  clock  and  music-box  were 
supernatural  things  far  above  their  idols  ;  spirits  dwelt 
there  talking  to  me  in  a  language  that  was  very  pecu- 
liar and  that  nobody  but  I  could  understand.  I 
did  not  wonder  at  their  wonder,  for  they  never  had  seen 
a  clock  or  music-box  in  their  lives.  How  could  such 
noise  come  out  unless  there  were  life  inside  ? 

Raising  my  voice,  I  said :  "  Men  and  women  look 
at  me/'  Then  I  took  my  box  of  matches,  and  lighted 
one  before  them.  A  wild  shout  was  uttered  by  all  at 
the  same  time.  They  did  not  seem  to  believe  their 

75 


KING    MOMBO 

own  eyes.  I  shouted  again,  "  Look  at  me."  Then 
came  a  profound  silence.  I  lighted  another  match. 
Another  shout  of  astonishment.  Then  with  one  voice 
they  cried,  "  Great  indeed  is  our  Oguizi,  the  friend  of 
King  Mombo." 

Then  I  took  my  magnet,  and  I  told  Regundo  to 
give  me  the  small  knife  he  had  by  his  side.  He  did 
so.  I  placed  it  next  the  magnet  where  it  held  fast. 
Another  wild  shout  of  wonder  was  the  result.  Then 
I  told  Ashoonga,  Regundo's  wife,  to  bring  me  an  iron 
needle,  one  of  their  own  make.  Then  they  saw  the 
needle  hang  to  the  magnet  without  falling,  and  as 
I  put  the  needle  upon  the  stool,  upon  which  I  had 
been  seated,  they  saw  the  needle  fly  to  the  magnet. 
There  was  a  great  silence  during  this  exhibition  of  the 
power  of  the  magnet.  Then  rose  a  mighty  shout  from 
the  throats  of  all,  even  from  Angooka,  the  great 
medicine-man. 

I  did  not  want  Angooka  to  be  jealous,  so  I  made 
friends  with  him  and  presented  him  with  five  matches. 
In  his  eyes  it  was  a  very  great  gift,  for  which  he 
thanked  me  and  then  he  invited  me  to  come  to  his 
plantation.  Then  I  called  Regundo  and  Oshoria, 
and  told  them  to  fill  their  pipes  with  tobacco,  which 
they  did.  "  Put  them  in  your  mouths,  I  will  light  them 
with  this,"  I  said  to  them,  showing  them  a  match  at  the 

76 


I 


KING    MOMBO 

same  time.  As  they  seemed  afraid,  I  said,  "  Be  with- 
out fear,  for  I,  the  Oguizi,  am  your  friend." 

I  lighted  a  match,  put  it  over  the  pipe  of  Regundo 
and  ordered  him  to  smoke.  When  they  saw  the  smoke 
coming  out  of  the  pipe,  a  tremendous  shout  rose. 
There  was  no  mistake,  their  eyes  did  not  deceive 
them  ;  it  was  real  fire.  Then  Oshoria  wanted  his  pipe 
lighted  also  and  after  him  nearly  all  the  men  and 
women  filled  their  pipes  and  asked  me  to  light  theirs 
for  them  also.  I  lighted  over  fifty  pipes. 

After  this  I  called  the  great  medicine-man,  and  tak- 
ing my  watch  out  of  my  pocket  held  it  to  his  ear. 
He  jumped  when  he  heard  it  tick,  and  shouted  his 
astonishment.  Then  I  went  into  my  little  house  and 
came  out  with  "  Omemba,"  the  stick  of  King  Mombo, 
and  at  its  sight  they  all  shouted  "  We  will  obey  you." 
The  penalty  for  any  man  taking  "  Omemba  "  with- 
out its  being  given  to  him  by  King  Mombo  was  death. 

The  hunters  and  I  became  good  friends  at  once,  and 
almost  every  evening  some  of  them  came  to  see  me. 
One  evening  as  I  was  seated  by  a  blazing  fire  which 
threw  its  light  around  us,  I  said  to  those  about  me, 
"  Tell  me  how  you  travel  and  how  you  go  hunting  in 
this  great  forest."  Regundo  got  up  and  replied,  "In 
the  forest  there  are  many  paths.  These  lead  from  one 
village  to  another,  or  from  one  tribe  to  another,  or  to 

77 


KING    MOMBO 

the  plantations.  Among  many  tribes  the  paths  used 
as  highways  of  communication  have  to  pass  through 
the  villages,  and  if  one  wishes  to  avoid  those  villages 
he  has  to  go  through  the  forest  until  he  gets  by. 
There  are  many  hunting  paths.  These  are  not  easy 
to  follow,  for  they  are  little  used,  and  often  they  are 
very  intricate,  and  it  is  difficult  to  find  the  way  back. 
There  are  also  paths  used  to  mislead  people.  Often 
these  end  abruptly  in  the  forest,  just  as  hunting 
paths  do." 


78 


CHAPTER   XII 

i 

KING  MOMBO'S  PLANTATION  —  WORK  OF  THE  SLAVES 
IN  CLEARING  AND  CULTIVATING  THE  FOREST  — 
STRANGE  VILLAGE  OF  THE  SLAVES  —  HOUSES  OF  THE 
SPIRITS  —  REGUNDO'S  ACCOUNT  OF  WITCHCRAFT  AND 
ITS  PUNISHMENT  — OVENGUA. 

IN  the  midst  of  this  forest,  far  away  from  their 
master,  lived  these  slaves  of  King  Mombo,  and 
none  tried  to  escape,  because  they  were  sure  to  be 
caught  by  the  people  of  some  other  tribes,  and  be- 
come the  slaves  of  their  captors,  and  having  a  good 
master  they  knew  that  it  was  better  for  them  to  be 
under  his  protection. 

The  plantains  or  cassava  or  manioc  fields  were 
scattered  all  over  the  forest.  One  day,  as  Regundo 
and  I  were  seated  together,  he  said,  "  I  am  an  old  man. 
I  rule  over  the  slaves  of  King  Mombo,  and  tell  them 
what  to  do  on  the  plantation.  My  wife  and  I  are 
Apinjis,  and  I  remember  that  we  passed  through 
several  tribes  coming  down  a  big  river,  changing 
masters  at  different  times  until  we  came  to  King 
Mombo.  But  that  was  long  ago  ;  many  rainy  sea- 
sons have  passed  away  since,  for  I  was  then  a  boy  and 
now  I  am  gray-headed." 

79 


KING    MOMBO 

The  slaves  had  a  great  deal  to  do  to  clear  the  forest. 
These  clearings  were  in  large  patches.  In  some  the 
trees  had  been  cut  and  burned  and  only  the  huge 
trunks  were  standing.  Thousands  of  plantain  trees 
had  been  planted.  In  some  patches  or  fields  the 
plantain  trees  were  large  and  bore  heavy  bunches, 
some  bunches  weighing  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  each.  In  other  patches  the  plantain  trees 
were  on  the  point  of  bearing  ;  in  others  the  trees  were 
smaller.  In  a  word,  the  plantations  or  patches  were 
so  arranged  as  to  bear  fruit  all  the  year  round.  The 
plantain  tree,  like  the  banana  tree,  bears  only  one 
bunch  and  then  dies.  During  its  life  several  shoots 
spring  from  the  ground  from  the  base  of  the  trunk,  and 
these  are  transplanted  and  in  time  bear  fruit.  No  two 
crops  are  gathered  on  the  same  spot,  for  the  bunches 
become  quite  small.  So  new  parts  of  the  forest  have 
to  be  constantly  cleared  for  new  plantations. 

There  were  also  large  fields  of  cassava  or  manioc. 
The  manioc  yields  a  large  return.  It  is  cultivated  by 
cuttings,  and  one  little  stem  is  stuck  carelessly  into  the 
ground,  and  produces  in  a  season  two  or  three  large 
roots  of  the  size  of  a  yam.  The  natives  boil  the 
roots.  When  taken  from  the  ground,  they  are  very 
poisonous  and  have  to  be  laid  in  running  streams  from 
three  to  five  days  before  being  eaten.  Near  the  dwell- 
So 


KING    MOMBO 

ings  were  large  patches  of  ginger,  of  sweet  potatoes, 
of  yams,  Indian  corn,  tobacco,  peanuts,  and  wild 
hemp  which  the  natives  smoke.  The  ground  in 
many  places  was  covered  with  squashes  and  gourds  of 
different  sizes  and  shapes.  There  were  vines  running 
in  every  direction.  The  gourds  were  used  as  water 
vessels,  or  to  hold  palm  oil  and  other  kinds  of  vege- 
table oils  made  from  the  nuts  of  the  forest. 

These  fields  were  cultivated  by  the  women.  Numer- 
ous lime  trees,  covered  with  limes  of  different  sizes 
were  to  be  seen  in  different  directions.  There  were 
many  plants  covered  with  small  red  peppers. 

Almost  every  day  one  or  two  canoes  were  loaded 
with  the  products  of  the  plantations,  and  with  game, 
and  were  despatched  to  King  Mombo. 

Not  far  from  Regundo's  house  was  the  sacred  or 
holy  tree.  It  was  a  kind  of  india-rubber  tree,  which 
had  grown  to  its  present  size  from  a  cutting  Regundo 
had  planted  years  before.  The  people  believed  that 
as  long  as  the  tree  flourished  the  place  where  they 
lived  was  a  good  one  for  their  settlement ;  but  if  the 
tree  were  to  die  it  would  be  a  sign  that  the  spot  had 
become  unlucky,  and  that  witchcraft  had  taken  pos- 
session of  the  place.  If  the  cutting  when  planted  dies, 
it  is  an  omen  that  the  place  chosen  will  not  be  a  lucky 
one  and  in  that  case  the  place  is  abandoned  at  once. 
6  81 


KING   MOMBO 

As  usual  on  such  occasions,  a  powerful  charm  or 
"  mondah  "  had  been  buried  by  the  medicine  doctor, 
with  many  incantations  to  keep  witchcraft  away  from 
the  settlement. 

"The  c mondah '  that  is  buried  there,"  said  Regundo, 
"was  made  of  three  skulls  of  chimpanzees,  five  heads  of 
monkeys,  three  heads  of  snakes,  one  leopard's  skull,  the 
talons  of  several  eagles,  and  charms  made  by  the  medi- 
cine doctor,  of  which  nobody  but  he  knew  the  compo- 
sition. Under  the  gate  or  arch  through  which  you 
passed  when  you  came,  another  powerful  'mondah'  was 
buried  by  another  great  medicine  man,  who  had  come 
from  a  far  country  and  had  been  sold  to  King  Mombo. 
He  is  now  dead,  but  the  power  of  the  c  mondah  '  he 
made,  and  which  is  buried  there,  is  very  great." 

Regundo  had  implicit  faith  in  the  powers  of  these 
two  "mondahs  "  under  the  arch  and  by  the  india-rubber 
tree,  for  he  and  his  wife  had  always  been  well  since  he 
had  settled  on  that  spot. 

Not  far  from  Regundo's  house  were  several  little 
houses,  standing  by  themselves,  and  not  big  enough 
for  human  beings  to  live  in.  Calling  Regundo,  I  asked 
him  what  these  houses  were  for?  He  answered  with  a 
great  deal  of  solemnity — "The  nearest  one  to  us,  which 
is  also  the  largest,  is  the  house  of  Okookoo,  a  great 
spirit;  the  second  is  that  of  Abamboo,  called  also 

82 


KING    MOMBO 

Jockoo  by  some  of  the  slaves  ;  the  third  one  is  that  of 
Mbuiri,  another  spirit ;  and  the  fourth  is  the  great  and 
powerful  idol  Makambi,  who  watches  over  us  and 
often  talks  to  us  during  the  night." 

On  our  way  back  to  his  house  Regundo  said : 
"  Oguizi,  we  all  dread  Ovengua." 

"Who  is  Ovengua,  and  to  what  tribe  does  he  be- 
long ? "  I  asked. 

"  Oh,"  replied  Regundo,  "  if  he  were  a  man  I  should 
not  be  afraid  of  him,  for  I  am  afraid  of  no  man  when 
I  have  my  gun  with  me.  He  is  a  spirit,  and  we  dread 
him  very  much.  He  is  a  great  catcher  of  men.  He 
wanders  incessantly  through  the  forest,  seeking  always 
to  kill  men.  We  never  see  again  those  who  are  caught 
by  him.  By  day  he  lives  in  a  dark  cavern,  but  at 
night  he  roams  freely,  and  sometimes  even  gets  into 
the  body  of  a  man,  and  beats  and  kills  all  those  who 
come  out  in  the  dark.  When  Ovengua  gets  into  the 
body  of  a  man,  that  man  must  be  killed  and  his  body 
burned  to  ashes  —  not  a  single  piece  of  bone  must 
remain,  lest  a  new  Ovengua  arise  from  it.  When  a 
bad  man  dies,  the  bones  of  his  body  leave  the  place 
where  he  was  left,  one  by  one,  and  become  an  Oven- 
gua. There  is  much  witchcraft  in  our  land,  Oguizi. 
You  have  seen  slaves  of  many  different  countries 
here  ;  witchcraft  is  in  their  country  also.  There  is 

83 


KING    MOMBO 

witchcraft  in  all  the  countries  inhabited  by  the  black 
man." 

Then,  after  a  pause,  he  added :  "  Wizards  and 
witches  are  the  worst  kind  of  people,  for  they  bewitch 
men  and  women  and  cause  them  no  end  of  sickness 
and  trouble,  and  make  them  die.  The  spirit  of  witch- 
craft goes  into  the  body  of  a  man  or  woman,  sometimes 
against  his  will ;  but  often  envy  and  hatred  cause  men 
and  women  to  become  wizards  and  witches.  These  are 
so  cunning  that  they  carry  out  their  evil  designs  un- 
known to  the  people  for  months,  nay,  even  for  years, 
and  keep  on  killing  and  giving  bad  luck  to  people 
without  detection.  They  smile  and  appear  friendly 
to  those  they  want  to  bewitch,  so  they  may  not  be 
suspected.  When  witchcraft  enters  people  and  gets 
possession  of  them,  it  gives  them  the  greatest  power 
for  evil  and  they  can  do  all  they  wish.  They  can 
make  one  have  a  long  and  painful  illness,  or  make  one 
die  suddenly.  They  can  also  give  one  bad  luck  in 
hunting  and  fishing,  they  can  bewitch  your  food  and 
water  and  the  road  upon  which  you  pass.  Through 
witchcraft  people  sometimes  appear  in  the  eyes  of 
other  people  to  be  animals  or  birds."  Then  he 
shouted,  with  fierceness  in  his  eyes,  "  Yes,  our  medicine 
doctors  can  find  out  wizards  and  witches  after  they 
have  drunk  the  c  mboundou.' ' 

84 


KING    MOMBO 

"  What  is  the  c  mboundou  ? '  '  I  asked  Regundo, 
though  I  had  of  course  learned  about  it  at  the  village 
of  King  Mombo. 

"  It  is  a  tree,"  he  answered,  "  that  Aniambie,  the  good 
spirit,  has  given  to  us  poor  black  men  to  enable  us  to 
discover  those  who  possess  the  power  of  witchcraft. 
Our  doctors  drink  the  'mboundou  '  without  dying,  and 
when  they  are  under  the  influence  of  it,  they  have  the 
power  of  divination,  and  find  out  who  the  sorcerers 
are.  Then  those  accused  of  witchcraft  appeal  to  the 
' mboundou*  to  prove  their  innocence,  and  they  drink  it 
in  presence  of  the  people  and  of  the  doctor,  who  drinks 
it  from  the  same  bowl.  If  the  accused  falters  and  falls 
to  the  ground,  he  is  a  sorcerer,  and  we  kill  him  and 
put  him  on  a  road  where  the  bashikouay  ant  is,  or 
we  tie  him  to  a  tree  and  make  cuts  in  different  parts  of 
his  body,  and  fill  these  cuts  with  those  little  red  pep- 
pers that  are  so  strong,  or  we  burn  him  slowly,  or  we 
cut  him  to  pieces  as  soon  as  he  falls." 

"  But,"  I  said,  "  Regundo,  this  is  terribly  wicked, 
to  make  poor  creatures  die  by  being  eaten  slowly  by 
the  bashikouay  ants,  or  from  the  fearful  tortures  of  red 
peppers  in  their  wounds,  or  by  slow  burning.  If  I 
were  present,  I  think  I  would  take  f  Bulldog  *  with 
me  and  shoot  the  perpetrators  of  such  deeds." 

"  But,"  Regundo  replied,  with  much  animation, 

85 


KING    MOMBO 

"  no  punishment  is  big  enough  for  wizards  and  witches. 
Our  land  is  full  of  them.  Still,"  he  added,  as  if  to 
soften  my  displeasure  and  sorrow  at  such  a  story, 
"  Oguizi,  wizards  and  witches  are  almost  always  sold  to 
the  people  of  other  tribes  instead  of  being  killed/' 


86 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE  NATIVE  DOGS  —  HOW  THEY  HUNT  THEIR  OWN 
GAME  WHEN  THEY  ARE  NOT  FED  —  THEIR  WAYS  OF 
ATTACK  — THEIR  USEFULNESS  TO  THEIR  MASTERS 
IN  WAR-TIME  —  OSHORIA'S  STORY. 

ONE  morning  I  was  surprised  not  to  see  a  single 
dog  on  the  plantation,  and  I  wondered  where 
they  could  have  gone. 

"  Where  are  all  the  dogs  ?  "  I  asked  Regundo. 

"  Oguizi,"  he  replied,  "  all  the  dogs  have  gone  to 
the  forest.  They  act  in  this  way  when  they  are  hungry. 
They  found  that  we  had  no  food  for  them,  and,  having 
gnawed  all  the  bones  they  had  hidden  in  the  ground, 
they  thought  it  was  time  to  go  and  hunt  by  themselves, 
and  feed  on  what  they  could  catch.  Often  they  spend 
the  whole  day  hunting,  and  do  not  return  before 
sunset,  sometimes  not  until  the  next  day,  when  they 
find  out  an  old  camp  to  sleep  in.  Dogs  are  very  sly. 
They  have  a  leader ;  they  understand  him,  and  they 
understand  each  other.  One  by  one  they  leave  the 
plantation  and  meet  outside." 

I  had  been  wondering,  since  I  came,  what  the  poor 
dogs  had  to  eat,  for  no  one  ever  gave  them  food. 


KING    MOMBO 

They  seemed  to  feed  only  on  the  bones  that  were 
thrown  to  them.  The  hungry  dogs  were  always  watch- 
ing the  movements  of  the  people,  though  they  appeared 
as  if  asleep.  But  this  was  only  a  blind,  for  as  soon  as 
a  house  was  left  vacant,  they  immediately  got  up  and 
entered  the  place  to  see  if  there  were  any  food  to 
steal.  All  these  native  dogs  are  great  thieves,  and 
wherever  they  have  a  chance  they  steal,  and  it  is  very 
seldom  they  miss  the  opportunity  offered.  As  soon 
as  they  get  a  bone  they  go  to  a  lonely  spot  where  they 
are  safe  from  the  other  dogs,  and  when  tired  of  gnawing 
it,  they  hide  it  in  the  ground,  and  never  forget  the  spot 
where  they  have  left  it  when  they  want  it  again. 

In  the  evening  the  dogs  made  their  appearance 
before  the  houses  of  their  respective  masters.  They  had 
evidently  been  unsuccessful  in  their  hunt,  and  had  had 
nothing  to  eat,  to  judge  by  the  pinched  appearance  of 
their  stomachs.  A  few  pieces  of  manioc,  just  enough 
to  prevent  them  from  dying  of  starvation,  were  thrown 
to  them,  after  which  they  fell  asleep,  as  they  were  very 
tired. 

"It  is  not  good  for  dogs  to  be  too  well  fed/' 
said  Regundo  to  me. 

After  what  Regundo  had  told  me,  I  watched  the 
dogs  every  day,  and  found  that,  though  they  belonged 
to  different  masters,  they  formed  a  pack  amongst 

33 


KING    MOMBO 

themselves,  and  that  they  understood  each  other 
thoroughly0  I  discovered  that  "  Fierce "  was  their 
leader.  When  they  wanted  to  go  a  hunting  together, 
they  did  not  bark.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  very 
sly,  and  looked  at  each  other  with  a  peculiar  expression 
of  their  eyes,  which  meant  one  thing  or  another  to 
them. 

How  "  Fierce  "  had  become  their  leader  I  could  not 
tell,  except  that  he  could  attack  with  fierceness,  and  could 
bite  savagely.  Physically  he  was  the  strongest  of  all 
the  dogs ;  hence  he  ruled  over  the  others.  He  was 
always  the  first  to  leave,  and  the  others  followed.  He 
generally  went  to  see  the  other  dogs  before  they 
started.  He  always  led  in  the  attack,  and  seemed 
to  prevent  the  other  dogs  from  being  too  forward  in  the 
fray.  When  he  retreated,  they  retreated,  and  in  some 
way,  unknown  to  me,  each  dog  was  given  his  proper 
position  in  the  attack. 

One  morning  when  I  got  up  I  found  that  the  dogs 
had  again  left,  and  no  one  had  seen  them  go  away,  or 
could  tell  whither  they  had  gone.  "  They  are  very 
hungry,"  said  Regundo,  "  and  will  continue  to  go 
into  the  forest  until  they  have  killed  some  game,  and 
thus  have  their  hunger  satisfied." 

Towards  sunset  the  dogs  returned.  What  a  sight 
they  presented  !  their  muzzles  were  red  with  the  blood 


KING    MOMBO 

of  the  animals  they  had  killed  and  eaten.  Some  were 
wounded.  One  had  its  ears  cut  almost  in  two.  An- 
other had  the  end  of  one  of  its  ears  bitten  off.  An- 
other had  the  upper  lip  cut.  Three  had  their  backs 
somewhat  lacerated.  Suddenly  Rogola  said,  "  Where 
is  my  dog  c  Spear '  ?  I  do  not  see  him  among  the 
others ;  he  must  have  been  killed  in  his  fight  with 
the  wild  beasts."  It  was  no  doubt  so,  for  cc  Spear  " 
was  never  seen  again.  Regundo  gave  it  as  his  opinion 
that  the  dogs  that  came  in  with  their  ears  and  lips  cut, 
had  fought  with  monkeys  they  had  surprised  on  the 
ground.  Those  whose  backs  were  lacerated  had  been 
wounded  by  wild  boars ;  and  they  had  succeeded  in 
killing  some  animal,  and  had  devoured  it ;  hence  their 
bloody  muzzles. 

Some  of  the  men  attended  to  the  wounded  dogs, 
and  said  that  in  a  few  days  they  would  be  all  right 
again.  The  dogs  had  evidently  fed  well  that  day ; 
soon  after  their  return  they  all  were  fast  asleep  under 
the  piazzas  of  their  masters'  houses.  Three  days 
afterwards  all  the  dogs  that  were  not  wounded  dis- 
appeared again  and  went  to  the  forest  to  hunt.  They 
were  evidently  on  the  scent  of  game,  for  we  heard 
them  barking.  Regundo  took  his  gun,  to  be  ready, 
but  gradually  their  bark  became  fainter  and  finally 
died  away.  The  game  had  escaped  them. 

90 


KING    MOMBO 

"  Sometimes  the  dogs  have  great  trouble  in  chasing 
an  antelope/*  said  Regundo  to  me,  "  for  these  animals 
are  very  fleet.  Often  they  tire  the  dogs ;  these  then 
gradually  fall  behind,  and  the  antelope  escapes." 

Early  the  following  morning  Oshoria,  Ogoola, 
Ngola,  Quabi,  and  I  went  after  antelopes.  The  men 
had  their  dogs  with  them.  These  were  soon  out  of 
sight,  and  as  we  went  along  on  the  hunting  path,  my 
hunters  would  call  them.  After  walking  about  three 
hours  we  heard  the  dogs  bark.  "  They  are  running 
after  an  antelope,"  said  Oshoria.  The  barking  came 
nearer.  Soon  it  was  very  close  to  us  and  we  were 
watching  intently  when  an  antelope,  followed  closely 
by  the  dogs,  dashed  by  us.  We  fired,  and  the  beauti- 
ful animal  fell  dead.  We  had  the  greatest  trouble  to 
keep  the  dogs  at  a  distance,  and  we  could  not  do  so 
until  we  had  cut  off  the  legs  and  some  of  the  meat  of 
the  animal  and  thrown  these  to  them. 

In  the  evening,  as  my  hunters  and  I  were  seated  by 
a  bright  fire,  they  told  stories  of  dogs. 

Oshoria's  story,  which  was  the  longest,  was  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Some  dogs  are  very  useful  in  time  of  war,  for 
they  can  find  men  hiding  behind  trees,  and  warn  us  of 
their  presence.  One  day,  years  ago,  I  was  on  the  war- 
path. I  had  then  a  dog  called  cldombe.'  He  was  very 
cunning,  and  followed  me  always  in  the  forest  in  war 

9' 


KING    MOMBO 

times.  I  had  trained  him  never  to  bark  when  he  dis- 
covered a  stranger,  but  to  come  back  to  me.  At  that 
time  the  enemies  of  King  Mombo  would  lie  in  wait 
for  his  people  along  the  paths  in  the  forest,  then 
attack  them  suddenly.  Sometimes  there  were  two 
or  three  together,  and  sometimes  but  one.  I  had  gone 
to  reconnoitre,  and  had  Idombe  with  me.  He  was 
scouring  the  forest  in  every  direction  ahead  of  me  as 
I  went  along.  Sometimes  I  lost  sight  of  him.  Once 
when  he  reappeared  and  came  towards  me,  when  he 
was  near  enough  he  looked  at  me  and  made  me  signs 
to  follow  him,  which  I  did,  for  I  knew  that  he  had 
seen  something  unusual.  Suspecting  danger,  and  fear- 
ing a  sudden  attack,  I  walked  most  carefully,  at  the 
same  time  stopping  every  few  steps  and  looking  around 
and  even  up  into  the  trees.  Suddenly  Idombe  barked 
fiercely,  looking  in  a  certain  direction,  turning  towards 
which  I  saw  a  spear  fly  out  and  graze  Idombe's  body. 
This  was  followed  by  an  arrow,  which  imbedded  its 
head  in  a  tree  near  him. 

c<  I  looked  all  around.  At  first  I  could  see  no  enemy. 
Then  I  saw  two  men  near  together  lying  flat  on  the 
ground  among  the  leaves ;  one  had  a  bunch  of  barbed 
spears  by  his  side,  the  other  a  bow  and  a  bag  filled 
with  arrows.  I  came  forward,  giving  the  cry  of  King 
Mombo.  This  was  immediately  answered  by  the  same 

92 


Just  in  time  to  see  a  huge  male  leopard  spring  upon 
one  of  the  dogs  " 


KING    MOMBO 

cry,  which  meant  peace.  These  two  men  belonged  to 
a  friendly  clan,  whose  warriors  had  come  to  side  with 
King  Mombo.  Poor  Idombe  had  a  narrow  escape. 

"  The  next  day  I  went  again  into  the  forest  with 
Idombe.  I  had  lost  sight  of  him  and  wondered  where 
he  had  gone,  when  I  heard  him  give  a  certain  cry  of 
pain,  as  if  some  one  were  choking  him.  I  went  in 
that  direction  and  came  to  a  little  pool  of  water  where 
animals  came  to  drink,  for  there  were  many  foot-prints 
round  it.  Then  I  saw  a  very  large  python  squeez- 
ing poor  Idombe  tightly  within  its  powerful  folds. 
The  dog  was  dead,  its  head  was  already  in  the  mouth 
of  the  big  snake.  It  is  the  habit  of  these  big  pythons 
to  lie  by  pools  coiled  round  a  tree  of  the  color  of 
their  skin  and  wait  for  their  prey ;  then  they  spring 
upon  their  victims  and,  squeezing  them  to  death,  swal- 
low them  slowly. 

"  Our  dogs  are  brave  and  a  number  of  them  are  not 
even  afraid  of  leopards.  These  leopards,  when  they 
become  man-eaters,  like  the  meat  of  man  better  than 
any  other.  Some  years  ago  a  leopard  prowling  near 
our  plantation  succeeded,  to  our  great  sorrow,  in  kill- 
ing and  devouring  two  people,  a  man  and  a  woman. 
Our  idol  said  that  we  must  go  and  hunt  the  leopard. 
Then,  taking  our  dogs  with  us,  we  went  in  search  of 
him.  After  a  while  we  heard  the  fierce  barking  of 

93 


KING    MOMBO 

the  dogs.  They  had  discovered  the  leopard's  lair, 
and  we  came  up  just  in  time  to  see  a  huge  male 
leopard  spring  upon  one  of  the  dogs  and  crush  him 
between  his  jaws.  With  fierce  glaring  eyes  he  looked 
at  us,  then  he  let  the  dog  drop  from  his  mouth  and 
lay  flat  on  the  ground  ready  to  spring  on  one  of  us. 
But  we  were  ready  for  the  beast,  and  before  he  had 
time  to  spring  we  fired  and  killed  him  on  the  spot. 
The  belt  I  wear  is  from  the  skin  of  this  leopard." 

When  the  leopard  story  was  ended  it  was  time  to 
go  to  sleep,  and  we  all  left  for  our  respective  quarters 
bidding  each  other  good  night. 


94 


CHAPTER   XIV 

"  —  DIFFERENT 
VIANDS  OF  THE  MENU  —  SPEECHES  AT  THE  BANQUET 
—  MUSIC  AND  DANCING— A  WEIRD  FOREST-SCENE 
IN  THE  TORCHLIGHT. 

ONE  afternoon  Regundo  said  to  me  :  "  Oguizi, 
all  the  hunters  and  all  the  men  on  the  different 
plantations  have  gone  into  the  forest  to  hunt,  for  we 
want  to  give  a  big  feast.  They  will  not  return  for 
three  days.  Some  have  gone  net-hunting,  others  will 
make  traps  to  catch  game,  and  some  hunters  have  gone 
with  their  guns." 

I  had  accustomed  myself  to  eat  the  food  of  the 
natives.  I  often  fed,  while  hunting,  on  fruits,  berries 
and  nuts.  I  ate  all  that  came  in  my  way  —  elephant, 
crocodile,  buffalo,  antelope,  monkey,  and  all  kinds  of 
strange  animals — and,  when  starving,  I  ate  even  snakes. 
Bread  had  been  unknown  to  me  since  I  had  lived  in  the 
country.  Plantain  and  manioc  were  my  bread  when  I 
could  get  them.  In  a  word,  I  ate  whatever  I  could 
get ;  it  was  better  to  do  so  than  to  die  of  starvation. 

During  the  absence  of  the  men,  I  saw  that  the 
women  were  preparing  food ;  large  wooden  mortars 

95 


KING    MOMBO 

were  filled  up  with  manioc,  a  root  which  had  been  left 
to  soak  in  the  water.  The  manioc  was  pounded  into 
a  paste  which  was  boiled  and  became  thick  and  firm. 
This  paste  was  then  shaped  into  long  loaves,  enveloped 
with  plantain  leaves,  these  being  used  instead  of  the 
paper  we  should  use  at  home.  These  loaves  can  be 
kept  quite  a  number  of  days.  To  the  palate  the  ma- 
nioc is  somewhat  sour. 

Some  women  had  been  collecting  njavi  nuts,  which 
come  from  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  largest  trees 
of  the  forest.  They  boiled  the  seed,  which  they 
mashed  afterward  on  hollowed-out  boards,  squeezing 
the  paste  with  their  hands,  thus  extracting  the  oil, 
which  they  poured  into  gourds. 

The  small  children  were  busy  skinning  the  squash- 
seeds,  after  which  the  seed  was  put  into  a  mortar  and 
pounded,  forming  a  very  fine  paste  to  which,  from 
time  to  time,  a  little  njavi  oil  was  added.  This  is 
mixed  with  meat  afterwards. 

One  woman  was  busy  making  ndica.  She  had  put 
seeds  of  the  wild  mango  into  a  mortar,  and  pounded 
these  into  a  paste,  after  which  the  paste  was  kneaded 
into  the  form  of  a  big  square  cake  and  left  to  dry. 

"  I  hope,"  said  Regundo  to  me,  cc  the  men  will 
return  with  much  game,  for  I  have  c  gouamba.'  ' 

"  What  is  c  gouamba  '  ?  "  I  asked. 

96 


u  The  women  were  preparing  food" 


KING    MOMBO 

He  replied,  "  It  is  a  craving  for  meat.  When 
plantain  or  manioc  is  set  before  us  day  after  day  with- 
out meat  or  fish,  we  begin  to  look  at  the  food  with 
disgust." 

Regundo  was  right  in  his  description.  I  had  had 
"  gouamba  "  many  times,  and  I  longed  for  meat,  ex- 
periencing the  same  effect  as  if  at  home  one  were  fed 
day  after  day  on  bread  and  water. 

But  Regundo's  wish  was  gratified.  The  hunters 
returned  with  a  great  quantity  of  game.  The  most 
successful  were  those  who  had  gone  net-hunting. 
Great  numbers  of  long  nets  tied  together  had  been 
spread  in  the  forest,  and  the  game  had  been  driven 
into  them. 

Everybody  was  happy.  Thank-offerings  of  game 
to  the  spirits  "  Olombo  "  and  "  Mombo  "  were  taken 
into  the  forest  for  them  to  eat. 

That  day  Regundo  made  a  great  offering  of  food 
to  "  Abamboo,"  game,  plantains,  nuts,  sugar-cane, 
ground-nuts,  and  placed  them  carefully  in  the  forest. 
On  his  return  he  shouted,  "  Abamboo,  I  love  you.  I 
offer  the  best  of  the  food  I  have  to  you.  Be  good  to 
me.  Do  not  let  sickness  come  to  me,  Abamboo. 
Kill  my  enemies,  those  who  wish  me  evil  by  witch- 
craft." 

He  also  made  a  sumptuous  offering  to  "  Mbuiri." 
*  97 


KING    MOMBO 

The  following  morning  the  plantation  wore  an  un- 
usual aspect.  Every  woman  was  busy  cooking  some- 
thing. I  waited  around  to  see  what. 

In  one  pot  a  piece  of  elephant  was  boiling  ;  in  an- 
other a  piece  of  antelope  was  being  cooked.  Further 
on  a  big  fat  monkey  was  roasting  on  a  bright  charcoal 
fire.  In  another  place,  the  ribs  of  a  huge  boar  were 
being  roasted  in  the  same  manner.  Not  far  from 
where  the  boar  was  being  cooked,  a  big  piece  of  smoked 
hippopotamus  was  being  boiled.  Still  further,  a  piece 
of  smoked  buffalo  was  also  boiling,  and  the  cook  was 
scraping  ndica  into  the  pot,  to  add  to  the  flavor  of  the 
meat,  while  another  woman  was  mixing  njavi  oil  with 
some  other  kind  of  meat.  In  one  pot  a  piece  of  a 
large  python  was  boiling. 

When  all  the  meats  were  nearly  ready,  the  women 
cooked  green  plantains,  took  their  skins  off,  cut  them 
in  two  or  three  pieces,  and  then  put  them  in  earthen- 
ware pots,  covering  them  with  green  plantain  leaves, 
and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  they  were  ready  to  be 
eaten.  The  plantain  must  be  eaten  when  quite  warm  ; 
then  it  is  mealy  ;  when  cold  it  becomes  hard,  and  is 
not  very  good. 

In  the  meantime,  some  of  the  men  were  beating 
tomtoms  furiously.  Then  men  appeared  with  cala- 
bashes filled  up  with  palm  wine,  a  liquid  coming 


KING    MOMBO 

from  the  sap  of  a  species  of  palm-tree  which,  after  it 
has    fermented,  becomes  intoxicating. 

Mats  had  been  spread  upon  the  ground.  Baskets 
and  home-made  earthenware  pots  were  to  be  used  as 
dishes.  Leaves  took  the  place  of  plates,  gourds  of 
goblets,  and  fingers  of  forks. 

When  everything  was  ready,  we  seated  ourselves 
cross-legged  on  the  ground,  upon  the  mats  that  had 
been  spread.  Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ngola,  Ogoola, 
Quabi,  the  medicine  doctor,  or  ouganga,  and  I  were 
close  together.  Dishes  containing  the  meat  of  the 
animals  I  have  mentioned  were  put  before  us.  I 
offered  to  Regundo  some  buffalo  meat. 

"  No,  Oguizi,"  said  Regundo ;  "  I  never  touch 
buffalo  meat  when  it  is  before  me,  for  it  is  (  roondah  ' 
[a  forbidden  thing].  In  the  days  of  old,  one  of  my 
ancestresses  gave  birth  to  a  buffalo,  and  since  that  time 
it  is  c  roondah  '  to  all  the  people  that  belong  to  our 
camp  to  eat  of  the  buffalo.  A  vessel  in  which  buffalo 
has  been  cooked  is  never  used  by  our  clan.  I  can  eat 
all  other  animals." 

Then  the  ouganga,  or  medicine-man,  exclaimed : 
"  The  wild  boar  is  *  roondah  *  to  me  and  to  my  clan  ;  " 
and  as  I  was  on  the  point  of  putting  a  piece  of  hippo- 
potamus on  the  leaf  of  Oshoria,  the  latter  said  :  "  No, 
no,  Oguizi.  I  never  eat  hippopotamus  meat.  It  is 

99 


KING   MOMBO 

*  roondah '  to  me,  because  in  the  days  of  old  one  of 
my  clan  gave  birth  to  a  hippopotamus." 

I  laughed  so  much  after  he  said  this,  shouting, 
"  Never  did  a  human  being  give  birth  to  a  hippo- 
potamus !  "  that  Oshoria  said,  very  seriously  :  "  I  speak 
the  truth,  Oguizi,  believe  me." 

Every  man  had  a  "  roondah,"  and  never  used  the 
vessel  in  which  his  forbidden  meat  had  been  cooked. 

We  all  had  voracious  appetites.  Big  pieces  of  meat 
disappeared  fast  one  after  another.  The  men  did  not 
seem  to  take  time  to  chew  their  food  —  they  took 
such  big  mouthfuls.  I  did  not  wonder  at  the  size  of 
the  pieces  they  seemed  to  swallow,  for  the  mouths  of 
most  of  them,  when  they  laughed  almost  spread  from 
ear  to  ear. 

Once  in  a  while  they  would  look  suspiciously 
towards  the  Waterbury  clock.  They  could  not  get 
accustomed  to  it,  for  it  was  in  their  eyes  a  supernatural 
thing  that  was  always  talking.  As  to  myself,  to  show 
them  that  I  had  no  "  roondah,"  I  tasted  of  every 
dish,  but  ate  most  of  the  monkey,  for  its  meat  was  fat 
and  juicy,  and  tasted  very  good. 

The  dogs  surrounded  us,  and  with  expectant  look 
were  waiting  for  a  bone,  and  as  soon  as  one  got  a 
bone  he  disappeared  to  eat  it  alone. 

After  every  dish  had  been  cleared  of  its  contents  I 

100 


KING    MOMBO 

got  up  from  my  seat  and  said :  "  Slaves  of  King 
Mombo,  and  you  belonging  to  other  masters,  the 
Oguizi  loves  you  all." 

Thereupon  all  shouted  at  the  same  time :  "  We 
love  you  also,  for  you  are  good,  Oguizi.  Stay  with  us 
all  the  time." 

At  these  words  Regundo  rose  and  said  :  "  You  will 
not  be  hungry,  Oguizi,  while  you  are  with  us.  The 
hunters  will  go  and  hunt  with  you ;  there  is  plenty  of 
game  in  the  forest  —  plenty  of  plantain  trees  and 
manioc  in  the  ground." 

"  Yes,"  shouted  all  the  hunters,  "  we  will  go  and 
hunt  and  kill  game  for  you.  Stay  with  us,  good 
Oguizi." 

At  this  I  got  up,  telling  them  not  to  go  away,  went 
into  my  house,  and  came  out  with  some  beads,  look- 
ing-glasses, files,  fire-steel,  flints  and  powder,  and 
distributed  these  among  them,  giving  to  the  women 
beads  and  looking-glasses,  and  to  the  men  the  rest. 
Great  excitement  ensued.  They  shouted  :  "  We  can 
die  for  you,  Oguizi,  for  we  love  you."  Then  in  a 
quieter  manner  they  added :  "  Every  evening  after 
our  day's  work  is  over  we  will  come  and  talk  to  you, 
for  it  does  us  good  to  see  you." 

In  the  evening  the  slaves  came  with  strange-looking 
musical  instruments.  I  was  to  be  present  at  an 

101 


KING    MOMBO 

African  concert.  The  first  musician  played  on  a 
"handja."  How  queer  the  instrument  looked!  It 
consisted  of  a  frame  about  three  feet  and  a  half  long, 
and  two  feet  broad,  in  which  were  set  some  ten  or 
twelve  hollow  gourds  covered  by  thin  strips  of  hard- 
wood. These  gourds  and  the  strips  of  wood  were  of 
different  sizes  and  so  graduated  that  they  formed  a 
regular  series  of  notes.  The  tone  was  clear  and 
good. 

When  the  player  had  finished  his  piece,  another 
got  up  and  played  upon  a  kind  of  harp,  covered  with 
the  skin  of  a  gazelle,  and  sang  at  the  same  time. 

Then  another  man  took  his  place  and  played  on 
what  we  might  call  a  small  guitar,  covered  with  a 
snake  skin,  singing  at  the  same  time.  The  strings  of 
these  instruments  were  of  vegetable  fibre. 

Ten  men  then  came  on  with  their  tomtoms,  which 
varied  in  size  and  length  according  to  the  fashions  of 
the  tribes  to  which  they  belonged.  The  cylinder 
of  the  longest  was  about  six  feet  in  length,  of  the 
shortest  about  four  feet.  The  wood  was  hollowed 
out  quite  thin,  and  antelope  skin  stretched  over  both 
ends  tightly.  The  drummers  beat  furiously  on  the 
upper  or  larger  end  with  two  sticks.  The  more 
excited  the  people  became,  the  louder  the  drummers 
beat.  No  music  can  excite  the  savage  more  than 

102 


"The  first  musician  played  on  a 


KING    MOMBO 

these  tomtoms.  The  singing  became  terrific ;  the 
women,  as  well  as  the  men,  made  the  wildest  con- 
tortions and  gesticulations  as  they  danced.  By  the 
light  of  the  torches,  with  the  great  forest  surrounding 
us,  the  scene  appeared  weird  and  fantastic,  as  if  it  did 
not  belong  to  this  world.  It  was  almost  morning 
when  the  festivities  ended. 


103 


CHAPTER   XV 

A  TALK  WITH  KING  MOMBO's  SLAVES  — WHY  SLAVES 
DO  NOT  RUN  AWAY  — VARIOUS  FEATURES  OF  THE 
TRAFFIC  — THE  CANNIBALS  OF  THE  INTERIOR— 
MY  DAILY  OCCUPATIONS. 

AFTER  the  feast  the  slaves  and  I  became  more 
friendly  than  ever.  The  following  evening  they 
all  came  to  see  me.  I  told  them  to  fill  their  pipes  and 
sit  down  —  that  I  was  going  to  light  the  pipe  of  every 
one  with  my  sticks  giving  fire.  The  matches  gave  them 
great  delight.  Some  wanted  their  pipes  lighted  several 
times,  but  I  could  not  afford  this  great  extravagance. 
I  did  not  want  to  run  short  of  matches. 

We  made  a  big  blazing  fire  and  I  stood  under  the 
little  piazza  having  Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ngola,  Ogoola, 
Quabi,  and  the  medicine-man  by  me.  I  had  made 
friends  with  the  medicine-man  by  giving  him  four 
of  my  long  hairs.  The  men  and  women  and  children 
formed  a  group  in  the  shape  of  a  horseshoe. 

At  first  nobody  uttered  a  word,  but  all  looked  at 
me,  and  I  said  with  a  loud  voice,  so  that  every  one 
could  hear  me  :  cc  I  have  wandered  in  this  great  forest 

104 


KING    MOMBO 

for  a  long  time  —  can  any  one  here  tell  me  how  large  it 
is,  and  where  it  ends  ?  "  Then  all  shouted  at  the  same 
time  :  "  No  one  amongst  us  can  tell  where  this  forest 
ends,  but  we  think  that  it  goes  as  far  as  the  country 
where  the  sun  rises  in  the  morning." 

A  queer-looking  slave  tattooed  all  over  then  got  up 
and  said :  "  Oguizi,  it  is  so.  Here  are  slaves  that 
have  come  from  very  far  countries,  but  none  of  them 
has  ever  been  out  of  this  great  forest.  There  are 
prairies,  but  as  soon  as  you  get  out  of  them  you  are 
once  more  in  the  forest.  Those  prairies  are  like  the 
islands,  found  in  the  rivers.  When  you  leave  them 
there  is  water  all  round  ;  when  we  leave  the  prairie 
there  is  the  forest  all  round.'* 

Next  another  slave  rose  and  said  :  "  Oguizi,  I  had 
to  walk  many  months  in  the  forest  before  I  came  here. 
I  was  sold  from  tribe  to  tribe,  and  I  had  to  follow 
many  of  the  paths.  Sometimes  I  journeyed  by  rivers, 
at  other  times  by  land.  Once  I  was  given  with 
four  other  men  as  payment  for  canoes.  At  another 
time  I  was  sold  for  some  salt — and  still  another,  I 
was  exchanged  for  a  tusk  of  ivory.  It  took  me  five 
rainy  seasons  [years]  on  the  way  before  I  came  here  to 
belong  to  King  Mombo.  I  thought  all  the  time  I 
was  travelling  that  I  was  coming  to  the  country  where 
the  sun  set.  King  Mombo  took  me  to  see  the  big 

105 


KING    MOMBO 

water  [the  sea].  I  was  much  frightened  when  I  saw 
the  big  waves  strike  the  land.  I  made  sure  they 
would  break  the  land  and  engulf  me,  but  what  frightened 
me  more  was  to  see  the  sun  disappear  under  the 
water.  Then  it  became  dark.  In  my  country  we 
had  never  heard  of  the  sea." 

I  asked  him  where  then  he  thought  the  rivers  were 
going  to  ;  and  he  replied  :  cc  Our  people  thought  they 
became  smaller  and  smaller  as  they  ran  down  and  that 
they  finally  disappeared  in  the  earth." 

Another  slave  who  then  rose  said :  "  I  was  sold  on 
account  of  witchcraft.  The  people  of  my  tribe 
thought  I  was  a  sorcerer.  I  was  not,  but  they 
sold  me,  and  before  I  came  here,  I  passed  through 
many  tribes.  I  am  so  glad  I  am  here,  for  I  am 
contented.  My  only  fear  is  that  perhaps  one  of 
these  days  King  Mombo  will  sell  me.  He  has  been 
kind  to  me,  for  he  has  given  me  a  nice  wife,  and  I  have 
fine  children,  and  I  am  happy  to  know  that  my 
children  cannot  be  sold,  for  the  children  of  us  slaves 
are  free.  They  are  called  c  bambais.'  That  is  the 
name  the  free  people  give  us,  —  and  the  c  bambais ' 
remain  under  their  protection,  and  have  to  fight  with 
the  men  to  whom  their  parents  belonged  ;  they  belong 
to  his  clan  and  tribe,  but  if  King  Mombo  dies  before 
we  do,  his  slaves  will  be  divided  among  his  brothers, 

106 


KING    MOMBO 

and  if  his  brothers  are  dead,  among  nephews  or 
the  nearest  of  kin." 

He  pointed  out  to  me  his  wife  and  children,  and 
had  them  come  and  sit  by  me. 

"  When  you  are  on  the  way  from  one  tribe  to 
another,  don't  you  sometimes  have  chances  to  escape  ?  " 
I  asked. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  trying  to  escape  ? "  they 
replied.  "  Some  men,  it  is  true,  are  foolish  enough 
to  try.  But  when  you  run  away  from  your  tribe  or 
from  your  master,  you  have  no  friends.  Every  man 
is  against  you.  When  you  have  a  master,  he  is  like 
your  father;  he  takes  your  part.  A  slave  that  runs 
away  is  sure  to  be  captured  and  be  made  a  slave 
again.  Sometimes,  when  they  think  they  are  to  be 
killed,  they  run  away  to  save  their  lives." 

One  of  the  slaves  then  rose  and  said  :  "  Oguizi,  I  do 
not  come  from  a  far  country,  —  only  four  tribes  inland 
from  here,  —  but  I  was  sold  by  my  parents." 

"  What  ?  "  said  I.     "  Sold  by  your  parents  ?  " 

"  It  is  so,  Oguizi.  Not  only  in  my  tribe,  but  in 
many  other  tribes,  parents  sell  their  children." 

£C  It  is  so,  Oguizi,"  all  shouted  with  one  voice. 
"  Yo,  yo,  yo,  it  is  so." 

Then  the  slave  continued :  "  When  we  are  small 
and  helpless,  our  parents  love  us,  and  would  not 

107 


KING    MOMBO 

part  from  us,  but  as  we  grow  to  be  big  boys  and  can 
help  ourselves,  they  often  sell  us.  This  is  the  custom 
among  many  tribes/* 

"  Do  they  sell  their  daughters  also  ?  "   I  asked. 

"  Yes,  they  do,  but  not  as  often  as  they  do  their 
sons,  because  when  they  give  their  daughters  in 
marriage,  the  suitor  has  to  give  them  one  or  more 
slaves  for  her.  The  more  daughters  they  have,  the 
richer  they  become.  A  man  has  to  give  several 
slaves  in  order  to  marry  the  daughter  of  a  chief.  " 

Then  another  slave  got  up  and  said :  c<  I  was  given 
away  in  that  way.  My  old  master  married  one  of  King 
Mombo's  daughters,  and  I  was  given  to  the  king  with 
three  other  slaves,  as  payment,  before  he  could  take 
her  away.  Oguizi,  when  people  want  to  sell  their 
children  or  grown  people,  they  find  plenty  of  excuses. 
The  best  of  all  is  that  you  are  a  sorcerer,  or  a  witch  ; 
people  would  rather  be  sold  as  slaves  than  be  killed 
as  sorcerers.  But  people  cannot  hold  slaves  of  their 
own  tribe,  their  slaves  must  always  belong  to  some 
other  tribe." 

"  What  do  people  buy  slaves  with  ?  "   I  asked. 

"  With  guns,  brass  kettles,  copper  rods,  iron  bars, 
beads,  and  other  things.  Far  inland,  sometimes  a 
man  is  sold  for  salt." 

At  these  words,  a  slave  got  up  and  said :  "  I  was 

1 08 


KING    MOMBO 

sold  for  salt  and  nothing  else.  My  family  wanted  to 
get  rid  of  me." 

After  this,  Regundo  himself  rose  and  said  :  "  King 
Mombo  is  very  good  to  us  all.  He  has  given  to  each 
of  us  a  wife,  and  when  a  man  has  no  wife,  he  buys  one 
for  him,  and  if  one  of  our  women  has  no  husband,  he 
buys  a  man  for  her.  He  loves  me,  for  I  was  given 
to  him  when  a  child  as  part  payment  by  my  former 
master  who  married  his  daughter.  He  had  to  give 
four  more  slaves  to  him  before  he  took  her  to  his 
village. 

"  Our  wives  attend  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  go 
fishing,  and  smoke  the  fish.  They  prepare  food 
for  our  master.  We  men  cut  down  the  trees  and 
burn  them,  for  you  see  there  are  no  open  spaces  in  the 
forest.  Cutting  down  trees  is  very  hard  work. 
Only  our  wives  cultivate  the  soil.  Plantain  trees  and 
manioc  are  only  planted  once  in  the  same  spot. 
Often  the  wives  of  King  Mombo  come  here.  They 
also  cultivate  the  soil." 

One  old  slave  said  :  "  Very  few  of  us  like  to  go  to 
King  Mombo,  for  fear  that  if  somebody  should  die 
while  we  are  there  we  might  be  accused  of  witchcraft, 
and  our  master  might  take  it  into  his  head  to  kill  us 
without  trial,  or  to  sell  us.  But  our  master  always 
takes  the  part  of  the  slaves  he  loves  and  insists  that 

109 


KING    MOMBO 

they  shall  be  tried  by  the  poison  ordeal,  the  c  mboun- 
dou,'  the  same  as  if  they  were  freemen." 

Then  they  all  looked  at  the  moon  and  thought  it 
was  time  to  go  to  bed,  and  said  good  night.  When 
they  left  I  said  to  them,  "  Come  again  to-morrow 
evening,"  to  which  they  replied,  "We  will  come." 

The  following  evening  the  slaves  came  again  and 
seated  themselves  on  the  ground.  They  said  never  a 
word,  but  kept  gazing  at  me  and  looking  at  the  Water- 
bury  clock  by  turns. 

Then  I  said  to  them  :  "  Friends  of  mine,  yesterday 
we  talked  about  the  big  forest  and  about  yourselves. 
Now  tell  me  all  about  the  people  who  live  in  the  great 
forest." 

A  big  fellow,  tall  and  slender,  rose.  He  was  tattooed 
all  over  and  had  teeth  that  were  filed  sharp  to  a  point. 
It  was  believed  by  all  that  he  had  come  from  the 
furthest  part  of  the  interior  of  the  continent  After  a 
deep  silence  he  said :  "  There  are  many  tribes  of  men 
in  the  forests,  Oguizi.  Some  are  fierce  and  warlike. 
There  are  also  tribes  of  men  that  are  cannibals,  who 
eat  human  flesh.  These  are  the  fiercest  of  all.  They 
are  always  fighting,  and  they  eat  many  of  the  prisoners 
they  capture,  for  they  prefer  eating  to  selling  them. 
They  are  great,  powerful  men.  Their  villages  are 
fenced  outside  with  long  poles,  and  on  the  top  of  many 

no 


big  fellow,  tall  and  slender,  rose.      He  was 
tattooed  all  over  " 


KING    MOMBO 

poles  are  seen  human  skulls  and  skulls  of  wild  beasts. 
They  have  many  powerful  idols  and  are  great  witch- 
craft men.  They  are  great  smiths,  and  make  many 
terrible  implements  of  war.  Their  spears  are  barbed. 
They  carry  crossbows  and  use  poisoned  arrows ;  they 
have  also  many  terrible-looking  axes  of  strange  shape, 
which  they  can  throw  through  the  air  and  with  the  sharp 
edge  split  in  two  the  skulls  of  their  enemies.  Their 
shields  are  square  and  are  often  made  of  the  skin  of  the 
elephant ;  they  are  as  hard  as  iron. 

"  A  cannibal  bought  me.  He  belonged  to  the 
Osheba  tribe.  I  was  dreadfully  afraid  that  I  should 
be  eaten  up,  but  a  few  days  afterwards  he  sold  me  for 
some  pieces  of  copper  and  beads  to  a  man  who  be- 
longed to  a  neighboring  tribe  that  was  not  cannibal." 

"  Do  you  know  by  what  name  those  cannibal  tribes 
are  called  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  know  the  names  of  two  of  them,"  he  replied. 
"  One  is  called  Fan,  the  other  Osheba." 

"  We  have  an  Osheba  man  and  woman  amongst  us, 
also  a  Fan  and  his  wife,"  they  all  shouted  at  once. 
Regundo  told  these  two  couples  to  get  up  and  come 
before  me.  I  looked  at  them.  The  men  were  fierce- 
looking  fellows  and  as  fine  negroes  as  I  had  ever  seen. 
They  were  very  tall,  over  six  feet  in  height,  and  their 
skin  was  of  the  color  of  chocolate.  Their  front  teeth 

in 


KING    MOMBO 

were  filed  to  a  fine  point  and  colored  black.  The 
mouths  of  these  two  cannibals  looked  horrid  when 
they  laughed.  Each  wore  a  long  queue  of  hair  hang- 
ing down  his  back.  They  wore  round  their  ankles 
two  large,  heavy  iron  rings.  Their  bodies  were  tat- 
tooed. They  had  been  owned  by  King  Mombo  for 
over  twelve  years,  and  were  amongst  his  bravest  war- 
riors. When  they  went  out  to  fight  they  would  not  use 
guns,  but  armed  themselves  with  barbed  spears  which 
they  made  themselves,  turning  the  iron  into  steel  by 
forging  it  in  charcoal.  Their  shields  were  made  of 
the  hide  of  an  elephant  that  they  had  trapped  in  a 
pit. 

I  asked  them  where  they  came  from,  and  they  said 
that  their  village  was  situated  on  the  shores  of  a  big 
river,  that  they  had  been  sold  for  two  brass  kettles, 
and  had  come  to  King  Mombo  all  the  way  by  water, 
being  bartered  from  one  tribe  to  another,  each  tribe 
giving  more  and  more  goods  for  them  as  they  came 
down  the  river,  the  price  of  slaves  increasing  always  as 
they  come  nearer  the  sea. 

Here  an  Ishogo  slave  got  up,  and  said :  "  Oguizi, 
the  strangest  people  who  live  in  the  forest  are  the 
Obongos,  a  race  of  pigmies.  They  never  grow  tall, 
never  plant  anything  like  other  men,  and  live  only  on 
fruits,  berries,  and  nuts.  They  wander  continually  in 

112 


KING    MOMBO 

the  forest  in  search  of  these,  and  do  not  even  live  one 
moon  [month]  at  the  same  place. 

"  They  have  little  villages,  but  their  houses  are  not 
like  ours,  they  are  so  small'*  —  and,  raising  his  hands 
to  a  certain  height,  I  understood  that  the  houses  of  the 
pigmies  were  not  more  than  three  feet  in  height,  and 
the  doors  or  openings  of  these  through  which  they  go 
inside  were  not  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  from 
the  ground. 

"  How  can  that  be  ?  "  I  said.  "  Then  the  Obongos 
must  be  scarcely  more  than  a  foot  in  height." 

"  They  are  taller  than  that,"  the  Ishogo  replied, 
"  but  when  they  enter  their  houses  they  lie  flat  on 
their  stomachs  and  creep  like  snakes,  or  bend  very 
low."  Then,  making  a  gesture  with  his  hands,  he 
gave  me  to  understand  that  they  were  between  three 
feet  and  a  half  and  four  feet  tall. 

Then  an  Apinji  and  an  Oshango  slave  rose  and 
testified  to  the  truth  of  the  narrative  and  the  Apinji  said : 
"  These  little  people  are  called  Ashoongas  by  us." 

"  Who  amongst  all  the  tribes  are  the  best  fighters  ?  " 
I  inquired. 

"  The  cannibals  first,"  they  all  shouted  —  "  then  the 
Bakolai,  then  the  Shekianis." 

"  Do  all  the  tribes  when  they  make  war  kill  only 
warriors  ?  " 

8  "3 


KING    MOMBO 

"  No,"  they  replied ;  "  they  kill  old  men,  women, 
and  children  also." 

It  was  getting  late,  and  time  for  them  to  disperse, 
and  as  they  rose  to  do  so  they  gave  a  last  suspicious 
glance  at  the  Waterbury  clock. 

The  mode  of  life  I  led  on  the  plantation  was  the 
same  every  day.  I  got  up  before  sunrise  and  bathed 
in  a  little  stream  of  clear  water  running  in  the  forest 
at  a  short  distance  from  my  little  cabin.  By  that 
time  Regundo's  wife  had  my  breakfast  ready.  The 
meal  varied  according  to  the  game  on  hand  —  but  I 
always  had  plantain.  Immediately  after  this  early 
breakfast,  generally  about  6.30  A.  M.,  I  started  for  the 
forest. 

Some  days  I  went  for  birds,  others  for  butterflies 
and  other  insects,  and  once  in  a  while  for  big  game. 
I  generally  returned  towards  noon,  then  had  another 
meal  —  after  which  I  went  into  the  shade  of  trees  and 
stuffed  the  birds  I  had  killed.  I  often  went  again 
into  the  forest  in  the  afternoon.  I  had  a  very  busy 
life,  and  very  little  time  to  feel  lonely.  Every  morn- 
ing when  I  awoke  I  was  filled  with  the  hope  of  discov- 
ering some  new  animals  or  birds.  When  I  had  time 
to  spare  I  studied  the  habits  of  the  people,  and  their 
ways  of  thinking.  Still,  though  I  was  much  occupied, 

114 


KING    MOMBO 

I  often  thought  of  my  friends,  and  at  times  was  home- 
sick enough. 

Part  of  my  time  was  also  spent  in  learning  from 
different  slaves  the  languages  of  their  tribe,  so 
that  I  might  be  able  to  speak  to  people  during  my 
wanderings.  None,  of  course,  had  a  written  language. 
So  I  had  to  write  the  words,  with  my  pencil,  on  paper. 
I  made  a  sort  of  dictionary,  writing  the  words  as  I 
understood  the  people  to  pronounce  them.  There 
were  many  dialects,  belonging,  no  doubt,  to  a  single 
language  in  former  times.  They  had  not  many  words, 
as  their  needs  were  few,  but  all  these  languages  had 
grammatical  forms,  handed  down  from  one  generation 
to  another. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  ANIMALS  OF  THE  FOREST  —  FIVE  KINDS  OF  APES  — 
THE  NGINA  OR  GORILLA  — HIS  GREAT  STRENGTH 
AND  FIERCENESS  — HOW  HE  ATTACKS  MAN  AND 
OTHER  ANIMALS—  OSHORIA's  ACCOUNT  OF  HIM. 

THE  slaves  assembled  the  next  evening.  I  said  to 
them :  "  Yesterday  I  heard  about  the  people 
living  in  the  big  forest.  Now  tell  me  of  the  strange 
beasts  that  roam  amongst  the  trees/' 

Regundo  replied  :  "  Oguizi,  there  are  many  strange 
creatures  living  in  the  forest.  Some  of  them  resemble 
people.  We  call  them  men  and  women  of  the  woods, 
for  they  have  no  tails  and  have  faces  like  human 
beings.  There  are  five  kinds  of  them,  nginas  [goril- 
las], nshiego-mbouves,  nshiego-kengos,  nshiegos,  and 
kooloo-kambas.  The  ngina  is  the  blackest  of  all. 
Some  of  the  nshiegos  have  faces  almost  of  the  same 
color  as  yours,  Oguizi. 

"The  one  amongst  these  we  dread  more  than  all  the 
others  is  the  ngina,  for  he  is  very  fierce  and  has 
the  strength  of  many  men.  So  we  call  him  the  c  giant 
of  the  forest/  There  is  the  skull  of  a  c  man  '  ngina 
on  the  top  of  my  house.  Look  at  it.  I  killed  the 

116 


KING    MOMBO 

creature  several  years  ago,  when  I  was  younger.  By  its 
side  is  the  skull  of  his  mate." 

I  looked  up  and  in  the  moonlight  I  saw  a  strange- 
looking  head  with  a  crest  on  the  top  and  powerful 
teeth.  Its  jaws  had  apparently  more  power  than 
those  of  a  lion. 

Regundo  got  up,  went  into  his  house  and,  coming 
back  with  a  gun,  said :  "  Oguizi,  this  gun  has  killed 
several  nginas,  many  elephants.  The  c  mondah ' 
[charm]  attached  to  it  is  very  powerful.  It  has 
brought  me  good  luck  in  hunting  and  is  the  cause  of 
my  always  having  killed  the  animals  I  shot,  no  matter 
how  strong  or  how  fierce  they  were." 

Then  Oshoria  rose  and  said  :  "  When  a  hunter 
comes  before  a  big  adult  man  ngina,  he  feels  that  he 
must  kill  the  ngina  or  be  killed  by  him.  It  is  sure 
to  be  one  or  the  other."  Then  after  a  short  pause 
he  continued  :  "  Strange  to  say,  the  ngina  has  the  same 
number  of  bones  that  we  have.  The  babies  have 
twenty  teeth  like  our  children  ;  later  they  have  twenty- 
eight.  Then  they  get  four  more  and  have  thirty-two 
teeth,  like  adult  human  beings. 

"  The  ngina  lives  in  the  dense  and  most  solitary 
parts  of  the  forest;  it  is  a  restless  creature,  wandering 
from  place  to  place  in  search  of  food.  They  never 
kill  animals  to  eat  them,  for  they  feed  only  on  berries, 

117 


KING    MOMBO 

nuts,  and  fruits  of  the  forest,  and  on  the  sugar-cane, 
plantains,  and  bananas,  which  they  steal  from  our 
plantations,  thus  causing  us  often  to  go  hungry.  A 
full  grown  ngina  can  easily  eat  twenty  or  thirty 
bunches  of  green  plantains  or  bananas  a  day,  many 
scores  of  pine-apples,  and  big  heaps  of  berries,  nuts, 
and  fruits.  They  eat  all  the  time,  from  morning 
until  dark.  So  they  have  to  roam  about  in  search 
of  food,  unless  they  discover  a  field  of  plantain  trees 
bearing  fruit ;  then  they  remain  near  the  place  until 
they  have  eaten  up  everything. 

"  A  man  ngina  is  so  strong  that  no  number  of  men 
can  ever  capture  him.  He  would  tear  to  pieces 
those  attacking  him.  He  can  bend  the  barrel  of 
a  gun,  and  break  trees,  or  branches  of  trees,  that 
are  much  bigger  than  his  thighs  just  as  if  they 
were  reeds." 

"  Tell  me,  Oshoria,"  said  I,  "  how  nginas  attack 
the  hunters  that  pursue  them." 

Oshoria  replied :  "  If  the  man  ngina  is  with  his 
mate,  the  latter  always  runs  away,  giving  a  shrill 
cry  of  alarm.  Then  the  man  ngina  gets  up  on  his 
hind  legs,  standing  like  a  man,  and  looks  around  to 
see  where  his  enemy  is.  Then  he  gives  yell  after 
yell,  roar  after  roar,  until  the  whole  forest  is  filled 
with  the  din  of  his  big  voice.  Then  he  comes 

118 


KING    MOMBO 

forward  to  attack,  walking  erect,  and  roaring  all  the 
time.  Sometimes  the  yell  resembles  that  of  an 
angry  dog,  though  a  hundred  times  louder.  His 
big  vindictive  gray  eyes  look  his  antagonist  straight 
in  the  face,  glaring  vengeance,  and  meaning  death. 
The  hair  on  the  top  of  his  head  moves  up  and  down, 
and  the  hair  on  his  body  stands  erect.  Then  he 
beats  his  chest  with  his  huge  and  powerful  hands. 
They  have  such  big  hands,  Oguizi,  and  these  are  so 
powerful,  that  when  they  strike  a  man  they  almost 
cut  him  in  two.  Once  I  killed  a  big  ngina,  who 
had  one  arm  shorter  than  the  other,  for  it  had  been 
broken,  probably  by  the  blow  of  another  ngina 
fighting  him,  but,  strange  to  say,  the  arm  had  knitted 
together  of  itself. 

"  It  takes  a  stout  heart  to  face  the  monster  when 
he  comes  to  the  attack.  It  is  of  no  use  to  try  to  run 
away,  for  a  ngina  runs  faster  than  a  man.  When 
he  looks  at  his  enemy  he  seems  to  say  to  him, 
c  I  am  going  to  kill  you.  You  are  soon  to  die. 
How  do  you  dare  to  come  and  disturb  me  in  my 
solitude/  His  wrinkled  black  face  is  terrible  to  look 
at,  and  every  time  he  roars,  he  shows  his  powerful  teeth, 
which  can  crush  the  arm  of  a  man  in  an  instant." 

"Do  they  fight  with  their  teeth,"  I  inquired. 

"  No,"  he  replied,  "  their  great  weapons  are  their 

119 


KING    MOMBO 

big,  long  muscular  arms,  and  their  hands,  their  legs, 
and  their  feet,  but  especially  their  arms.  When  they 
have  disabled  or  seized  their  antagonists,  they  often 
in  their  rage  give  a  bite  or  two,  but  one  way  or 
the  other  it  is  all  over  with  a  man  when  he  is  in 
the  clutches  of  the  ngina.  Oguizi,  the  huge  creature  has 
nails  like  those  of  a  man." 

"  How  big  are  the  nginas  ? "   I  asked. 

"  They  are  as  tall  as  men,  and  vary  in  size  also,  but 
they  have  such  big  chests  that  two  grown  men  put  side 
by  side  at  the  back  of  the  ngina  could  not  be  seen  by 
a  man  coming  from  the  opposite  direction." 

"  Where  do  you  aim  when  you  are  going  to  shoot  a 
ngina  ? " 

"  In  the  direction  of  the  heart.  When  shot 
there  he  dies  instantly,  and,  like  men  who  are 
shot  through  the  heart,  he  falls  forward.  Then  comes 
a  great  sight.  He  groans,  the  long  arms  stretch  out. 
His  fingers  twitch,  his  hands  open  and  shut  several 
times,  and  woe  to  the  man  who  should  find  himself 
in  his  grip  at  that  time. 

"  When  a  ngina  roams  in  the  forest  where  men  have 
only  spears  or  poisoned  arrows,"  continued  Oshoria, 
"  he  roams  undisturbed  and  at  leisure,  for  no  body  of 
warriors,  however  brave,  would  dare  to  attack  him. 
Though  he  might  fall  under  the  weight  of  many 

120 


u  A  little  before  dark  she  goes  up  a  tree  with  the 
baby  to  sleep  " 


KIMG    MOMBO 

spears,  he.  would  succeed  in  killing  many  men  first. 
Only  guns  can  kill  nginas.  The  nginas  are  very 
suspicious,  and  when  they  hear  a  noise  in  the  forest 
they  move  away  from  it,  but  when  they  tire  of 
being  tracked  they  show  fight.  When  old,  the  man 
ngina  and  his  mate  travel  together  with  the  baby. 
When  very  old  the  man  of  the  woods  is  always 
alone.  There  is  a  great  danger  when  we  walk  in  the 
forest  in  coming  suddenly  upon  a  man  ngina.  Then 
he  is  sure  to  attack  us,  and  if  a  man  has  no  gun  he  is 
sure  to  be  killed. 

"  I  wish  you  could  see  a  c  woman  '  ngina  with  her 
baby.  They  look  like  human  beings.  Just  a  little 
before  dark  she  goes  up  a  tree  with  the  baby  to  sleep. 
The  big  fellow  sleeps  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  to  keep 
watch,  and  woe  to  the  animal  that  comes  near." 

"  Tell  me,  Oshoria,"  said  I,  "  do  leopards  attack 
the  ngina  ?  " 

"  They  do  sometimes.  The  leopards  move  so 
silently  in  the  forest  that  the  nginas  cannot  hear  them 
approach ;  then  the  leopard  springs  upon  the  back  of 
the  ngina  and  fastens  his  teeth  into  his  neck,  while  his 
claws  are  deeply  imbedded  in  his  back.  Then  the 
combat  is  soon  over,  for  the  neck  of  the  ngina  is  torn 
to  pieces,  and  he  succumbs.  But  woe  to  the  leopard 
if  the  ngina  can  seize  him  with  his  powerful  hands. 

121 


KING    MOMBO 

cc  When  a  ngina  sees  a  leopard  on  the  ground,  he 
runs  towards  a  tree,  and,  setting  his  back  against  the 
trunk,  stands  in  an  erect  posture,  or  seats  himself. 
There  he  feels  strong,  and  can  withstand  the  attack  of 
the  leopard.  He  watches  with  deep,  gray,  sunken 
eyes  every  movement  of  his  antagonist,  trying  to  scare 
him  with  his  yells  and  roars.  We  believe  that  if 
a  leopard  is  bold  enough  to  spring  upon  a  ngina 
when  he  has  his  back  against  a  tree,  the  ngina  often 
succeeds  in  seizing  the  leopard  by  his  tail  as  the 
latter  springs.  Then  he  swings  the  animal  round  and 
round  by  the  tail,  striking  it  at  last  against  a  tree,  and 
killing  his  enemy  instantly  in  that  way.  At  other  times, 
when  a  ngina  succeeds  in  jumping  upon  a  leopard,  he 
puts  one  of  his  powerful  hands  upon  his  neck  to  prevent 
him  from  turning  his  head  and  biting  him,  then  hold- 
ing the  beast  with  his  feet,  which  are  like  hands,  he 
breaks  his  spine,  and  tears  him  to  pieces,  biting  him 
terribly  at  the  same  time.  Just  look  at  his  teeth  !  " 
concluded  Oshoria,  pointing  at  the  same  time  at  the 
head  on  the  top  of  the  house. 

"  Does  the  ngina  attack  elephants  ? "  I  asked. 

"  I  do  not  think  the  ngina  attacks  elephants, 
Oguizi.  I  hope  you  will  see  and  kill  a  ngina  with 
c  Bulldog '  while  you  are  with  us.  There  are  not 
many  in  the  forest." 


122 


KING   MOMBO 

"  We  must  see  some  nginas,"  I  cried. 

"  You  will  meet  some,"  shouted  the  hunter  in 
response. 

When  Oshoria  had  finished  his  narrative  the  per- 
spiration was  fairly  running  down  his  face,  he  had 
become  so  excited.  I  did  not  wonder,  for  he  remem- 
bered how  the  huge  beasts  had  attacked  him,  and 
he  fancied  that  the  animal  was  before  him  and  that 
he  heard  his  fearful  yells  and  tremendous  roars. 

I  said  to  him  :  "  Now  fill  your  pipe,  and  I  will  light  it 
with  my  fire-stick."  After  he  had  rested  a  while  I 
said  to  him  :  "  Do  nginas  build  houses,  or  any  shelter 
whatever  ? " 

"  No,"  he  replied,  "  and  if  any  one  says  that  he  has 
seen  a  shelter  built  by  a  ngina,  he  lies." 

By  this  time  it  had  grown  late  and  soon  all  the  slaves 
left  after  bidding  me  good  night. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

THE  OTHER  APES  OF  THE  GREAT  FOREST  —  OSHORIA 
TELLS  ABOUT  THE  NSHIEGO  MBOUVES  —  CAPTURE 
OF  A  BABY  "  MAN  OF  THE  WOODS  "  -HIS  MOTHER 
KILLED  — CORRESPONDENCE  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  APES 
WITH  THE  VARIOUS  HUMAN  RACES. 

THE  next  evening  the  slaves  again  made  their 
appearance,  and  to  amuse  them  I  told  them 
again  to  fill  their  pipes,  and  lighted  them  with  my 
matches,  to  their  great  delight.  While  they  were 
smoking  I  said :  "  I  heard  yesterday  about  the  strong 
and  fierce  ngina.  Tell  me  this  evening  something 
about  the  nshiego,  nshiego  mbouve,  nshiego  kengo, 
and  kooloo-kamba.  Tell  me  how  you  can  distinguish 
the  different  kinds  among  these  c  men  of  the  woods/  as 
you  call  them." 

"  We  easily  recognize  each  kind/'  replied  Oshoria, 
for  he  was  again  to  be  the  spokesman.  "  I  will  tell 
first  of  the  nshiego  mbouve.  He  is  far  from  being 
as  tall  and  powerful  as  the  ngina.  The  nshiego 
mbouve  is  the  bald-headed  man  of  the  woods  —  he 
is  born  with  thin  hair  on  his  head,  but  as  he  grows 
older  the  hair  drops  off  entirely.  He  is  the  only  one 

124 


KING    MOMBO 

amongst  the  nshiegos  that  becomes  bald.  But, 
Oguizi,  the  nshiego  mbouve  when  very  young  has  a 
face  whiter  and  paler  than  yours  —  though  his  mother 
and  father  are  as  black  as  the  blackest  among  us. 
Strange  to  say,  as  the  baby  nshiego  mbouve  grows 
older,  his  pale  face  grows  darker  and  darker,  and  after 
a  time  comes  to  be  as  black  as  that  of  his  father  and 
mother. 

"  But,  Oguizi,"  added  Oshoria,  with  emphasis,  "  they 
are  so  shy  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  approach  them. 
The  best  way  is  to  discover  their  shelter  and  lie  in 
wait  for  them." 

After  a  pause,  he  said :  "  The  nshiego  kengo  is 
born  pale  yellow,  and  has  a  pale  face  also  ;  the  blood 
does  not  go  through  its  skin,  as  your  blood  does 
through  yours  ;  no  matter  how  warm  they  are,  how 
much  they  have  run,  they  always  remain  pale.  The 
nshiego  mbouve  and  the  nshiego  kengo  are  more 
intelligent  than  the  ngina.  They  make  a  shelter  for 
themselves  on  trees,  about  five  or  six  arms'  lengths 
from  the  ground.  There  they  rest  at  night,  as  they 
are  afraid  of  the  leopards.  The  '  man '  has  one  shelter, 
the  *  woman '  another,  on  two  different  trees  close  to- 
gether. They  do  not  attack  men,  and  run  away  at  the 
least  noise. 

"  Then  comes  the  kooloo-kamba,  another  kind  of 

1*5 


KING    MOMBO 

nshiego.  This  kind  is  very  rare.  He  is  different  from 
the  nshiego  mbouve  and  nshiego  kengo.  He  is  born 
black.  We  call  him  kooloo-kamba  because  his  cry 
is  c  kooloo-kooloo/ 

"  Then  comes  the  last  of  the  men  of  the  woods,  and 
the  most  numerous  species.  He  goes  by  the  name 
of  nshiego.  He  is  born  pale-faced  and  gradually  be- 
comes black.  He  also  is  very  intelligent.  We  can 
tame  easily  all  the  species  of  young  nshiegos,  and  we 
capture  them  by  killing  their  mothers  when  we  find 
them  together. 

"  The  reason  we  call  all  this  kind  of  c  men  of  the 
woods '  c  nshiego '  is  because  they  are  much  alike  in 
some  respects :  they  all  have  elongated  hands  with 
long  fingers,  and  long  and  narrow  feet.  All  nshiegos 
have  big  ears,  too,  while  the  ngina  has  very  small  ears 
and  much  shorter  hands  and  feet.  All  the  nginas 
and  the  nshiegos  are  tailless ;  they  have  a  spine, 
like  man.  The  nshiegos  spend  much  of  their  time 
on  trees ;  they  are  great  tree-climbers  —  that  is  the 
reason  that  they  have  long  hands  and  fingers.  With 
these  they  readily  seize  the  branches  of  trees ;  their 
feet  are  also  on  that  account  more  flexible  than  those 
of  the  ngina." 

When  Oshoria  had  done  speaking  about  all  the 
"  men  of  the  woods  "  found  in  this  great  African  forest, 

126 


KING    MOMBO 

I  thought  of  the  strange  orang-outangs,  which  I  had 
seen  alive  at  home  in  New  York  and  Boston,  and  how 
wonderfully  human  they  looked,  with  their  high  fore- 
heads. These  also  live  in  big  forests  in  the  islands  of 
Borneo  and  Sumatra.  They  are  another  kind  of 
"  men  of  the  woods,"  without  tails.  "  How  strange  it 
is/'  I  said  to  myself,  cc  that  amongst  the  c  men  of  the 
woods/  there  are  three  colors,  as  with  human  beings. 
The  orang-outang  has  hair  that  is  brown  and  a  face  of 
almost  the  same  color,  and  corresponds  to  the  brown 
races.  The  nshiego  kengo  has  somewhat  the  color 
of  the  white  man,  and  the  ngina  and  the  kooloo-kamba 
have  that  of  the  black  man/' 

Two  days  after  our  conversation  about  the  nshiegos 
I  heard  a  great  uproar  near  Regundo's  house,  just  as 
I  was  emerging  from  the  forest  after  my  morning's 
hunting.  I  saw  a  big  crowd  of  slaves,  and  heard  loud 
exclamations  of  astonishment,  and  the  words  "  nshiego 
mbouve  "  and  "  baby  nshiego  mbouve."  I  hurried  up 
and  saw  Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola,  and  Quabi 
coming  to  meet  me.  They  said :  "  Oguizi,  we  have 
killed  a  nshiego  mbouve  and  captured  her  baby,  which 
is  alive  and  well.  Come  and  see  them."  Soon  after  I 
stood  by  the  side  of  the  dead  nshiego  mbouve,  which 
was  perfectly  black,  and  looked  with  wonder  at  the 
very  white  face  of  the  baby  nshiego  mbouve.  I 

127 


KING    MOMBO 

thought  I  had  never  seen  amongst  wild  creatures  such 
a  human  face  as  I  did  in  that  little  old  face  of  the 
baby  ;  he  looked  so  pale  that  one  might  have  thought 
he  had  just  left  a  sick  bed  or  the  hospital.  He  crept 
over  the  body  of  his  mother  and  moaned,  "  Whoe, 
whoe,"  as  if  he  were  a  human  being.  It  was  his  mode 
of  crying.  He  knew  that  his  mother  was  dead. 

In  the  evening  Oshoria  and  the  slaves  assembled 
and  we  talked  about  nshiego  mbouves  and  the  other 
"  men  of  the  woods."  Pointing  to  the  little  nshiego 
mbouve  fast  asleep  on  a  bed  of  dry  leaves,  Oshoria 
said  :  "  The  pale-faced  nshiego  mbouve  and  the 
other  c  men  of  the  woods '  have  in  many  respects 
better  luck  than  we  poor  black  men  have.  They 
have  not  to  work  hard  as  we  do,  they  have  not  to  dig 
the  ground,  to  cut  down  the  trees  of  the  forest,  to  sow 
or  to  plant,  in  order  to  live.  If  we  did  not  do  this  we 
should  die  of  hunger.  Food  grows  of  itself  for  them 
in  the  forest ;  they  can  always  find  something  to  eat. 
It  is  true  that  there  is  the  race  of  pigmies,  who  are 
human  beings  like  us  and  live  chiefly,  like  the  c  men 
of  the  woods/  on  the  nuts,  berries,  and  fruits  of  the 
forest  and  do  not  plant  or  sow  anything,  but  then  the 
pigmies  can  trap  game  and  exchange  it  with  the  big 
people  for  plantains.  They  know  the  use  of  fire  and 
cook  their  food. 

128 


KING    MOMBO 

"These  c  men  of  the  woods'  do  not  have  to  go  into 
the  forest  and  collect  firewood ;  they  do  not  have  to 
carry  big  loads  on  their  backs ;  they  do  not  have  to 
cook  food.  There  are  a  number  of  things  we  can  do 
and  they  cannot.  They  cannot  make  fire.  They  can- 
not make  intoxicating  drinks  and  get  drunk.  They 
cannot  smoke.  They  have  no  idols,  no  cmondahs/  no 
witchcraft.  They  do  not  sell  each  other  into  slavery. 
They  do  not  beat  their  mates,  as  we  do  our  wives. 

"  These c  men  of  the  woods '  look  so  much  like  human 
beings  that  there  are  tribes  of  men  who  do  not  eat 
them,  for  to  them  it  would  seem  like  eating  people. 
But  there  are  many  tribes  who  eat  them,  just  as  there 
are  tribes  of  men  who  eat  people  as  they  eat  game. 

"  The  monkeys/'  he  continued,  "  are  the  relations 
of  the  '  men  of  the  woods/  What  human  faces  they 
have!  When  they  are  travelling  in  the  woods,  they 
have  their  leaders  and  follow  them.  They  all  under- 
stand each  other.  When  we  walk  in  the  forest,  they 
look  down  upon  us  as  if  they  were  human  beings. 
When  we  shoot  and  kill  them  with  our  bows  and  arrows, 
they  look  at  us  with  their  dying  eyes  as  if  to  say  : £  Why 
did  you  hurt  me  ?  Have  I  ever  done  you  any  harm  ?  ' 
But  how  angry  they  look  when  in  captivity  if  we  do 
something  that  does  not  please  them.  Strange  to  say, 
Oguizi,  we  can  trap  monkeys,  but  can  never  trap  the 
9  129 


KING   MOMBO 

c  men  of  the  woods/  I  do  not  know  that  a  c  man  of 
the  woods  '  has  ever  been  caught  in  a  trap. 

"  Oguizi,  do  you  remember  this  morning,  how  the 
baby  nshiego  mbouve  moaned  after  his  mother,  — 
how  he  walked  over  her  dead  body ;  he  knew  that  she 
was  dead. 

"  There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  baby 
human  being  and  the  baby  of  a  nshiego  mbouve  and 
of  the  other  c  men  of  the  woods/  Almost  as  soon  as 
a  baby  of  the  c  men  of  the  woods  *  is  born,  his  fingers 
can  clutch  and  cling  to  his  mother.  Our  babies  can- 
not ;  they  are  helpless/* 

It  was  late  when  our  talk  ended.  The  slaves  rose 
and  bade  me  good-night.  The  dear  slaves  were  my 
only  companions. 


130 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

ANGOOKA,  THE  MEDICINE  MAN  —  HIS  STRANGE  AP- 
PEARANCE —  EAVESDROPPING  —  I  OVERHEAR  THE 
CONVERSATION  OF  THE  SLAVES  —  THEY  TALK 
AMONG  THEMSELVES  ABOUT  THE  OGUIZI. 

EARLY  the  next  morning  all  the  slaves  on  the 
plantation  gathered  near  Regundo's  house,  for 
I  had  gone  hunting  by  myself,  and  they  thought  I 
was  far  away.  Suddenly  I  changed  my  mind  and 
returned.  As  I  approached  the  village,  I  heard 
voices.  I  approached  cautiously,  and  when  I  got  a 
glimpse  of  the  talkers  I  hid  myself  in  order  not  to 
be  seen. 

Angooka  was  easily  recognized,  for  he  was  dressed 
in  the  garb  of  the  medicine  man.  He  wore  a  head- 
dress of  gaudy  red  feathers  from  the  tails  of  gray 
parrots.  Among  these  were  also  eagles'  and  hawks* 
feathers.  On  his  neck  was  a  necklace  made  of  the 
beaks  of  eagles  between  which  were  leopards'  claws, 
while  as  a  pendant  hung  four  leopards'  teeth.  Round 
his  waist  was  a  belt  to  which  were  fastened  cowry  shells 
filled  with  charmed  powder.  His  body  was  painted  all 
over  with  white  ochre  (chalk),  over  which  were  scattered 


KING    MOMBO 

round  yellow  spots.  Upon  each  of  his  cheeks  were 
two  flaming  red  spots.  In  his  hand  he  held  several 
charmed  skins  tied  together,  holding  precious  and 
powerful  powders. 

At  a  little  distance  a  man  was  stationed  on  the  top 
of  a  slender  tree.  From  there  he  addressed  the  medi- 
cine man,  and  asked  him  questions  about  Jockoo 
or  Abamboo,  shaking  the  tree  at  the  same  time, 
to  which  Angooka  replied  in  a  sonorous  manner. 
The  business  of  Angooka  was  to  keep  away  the  evil 
spirits  and  destroy  witchcraft  in  the  plantation.  An- 
gooka suddenly  danced  in  the  wildest  manner,  ut- 
tered all  sorts  of  incantations,  peered  into  the  face  of 
every  one  as  if  to  divine  their  thoughts,  and  then 
declared  that  there  were  no  witches  or  wizards  with 
them.  Then  the  ceremony  came  to  an  end.  Near 
Angooka  were  Oshoria,  Ngola,  Ogoola,  and  Quabi. 
I  heard  the  medicine  man  say  to  them  :  "  Great  indeed 
is  the  Oguizi  that  we  have  with  us.  How  strange  he 
looks,  with  his  long,  straight  black  hair.  His  eyes 
seem  to  find  out  the  thoughts  of  a  person.  Strange 
that  the  Oguizi  has  come  to  the  country  of  King 
Mombo,  and  to  you  his  slaves." 

"  Where  do  you  think  the  Oguizi  lives  ?  "  asked 
the  men  of  Angooka,  who  replied : 

"The  Oguizi  can  disappear  from  our  sight  when 


KING    MOMBO 

he  wishes.  He  has  come  to  see  our  land,  and  one 
of  these  days  he  will  go  and  we  shall  never  see  him  any 
more.  He  will  rise  in  the  air  unseen  and  go  to  the 
moon." 

Regundo  then  said  to  the  medicine  doctor :  "  Last 
night  we  heard  a  rumbling  noise  in  his  house,  the 
striking  of  a  hammer  upon  an  anvil,  and  saw  flashes 
of  light  inside  through  the  cracks  in  the  walls.  We 
heard  the  Oguizi's  incantations.  He  was  then  making 
the  things  he  gives  away.  When  I  went  into  the  house 
in  the  morning  the  anvil  and  hammer  were  gone,  and 
no  remains  of  fire  were  to  be  seen.  How  strange  is 
the  piece  of  iron  which  he  holds  in  his  hands,  to 
which  our  knives  hang  without  dropping !  How 
wonderful  are  his  little  sticks  from  which  fire  springs  ! 
How  wonderful  are  the  strange  boxes  [the  Waterbury 
clock  and  the  musical  box]  full  of  spirits  that  are  talk- 
ing to  him." 

I  did  not  want  them  to  know  that  I  had  been  listen- 
ing to  them,  and  when  I  finally  revealed  myself  and 
went  toward  them,  I  acted  as  if  I  had  heard  nothing. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

NEWS  BROUGHT  THAT  GORILLAS  ARE  NEAR  BY  IN  THE 
FOREST  — THE  DOGS  GOT  READY  FOR  THE  HUNT  — 
THEIR  NAMES  —  A  GRAND  HUNTING  COUNCIL  — 
REGUNDO'S  WISE  ADVICE  —  CAUTIONS  TO  BE  OB- 
SERVED. 

ONE  morning  just  as  I  shouldered  "  Bulldog,"  and 
was  ready  to  go  into  the  forest,  Regundo  came 
to  me  much  excited,  and  said :  "  Oguizi,  I  have  great 
news  to  tell  you.  Some  men  have  just  arrived  with 
the  news  that  there  are  nginas  in  the  forest,  and  near 
the  plantain  trees." 

"  Great  news,  indeed,  you  tell  me,  Regundo,"  I 
replied,  "  and  we  must  get  ready  to  go  and  attack  them. 
Send  for  Oshoria,  Ngola,  Ogoola,  and  Quabi." 

"  Yes,"  said  Regundo,  "  for  they  are  your  hunters, 
and  wherever  you  go  they  must  follow  you." 

Soon  my  four  hunters  were  on  hand ;  they  had  also 
received  the  news  about  the  nginas  and  came  to  tell 
us  of  what  they  had  heard.  There  was  great  excite- 
ment among  the  people. 

While  we  were  sitting  together  Regundo  said 
thoughtfully  :  "If  the  nginas  were  only  contented 


KING    MOMBO 

to  eat  two  or  three  big  bunches  of  plantains  or  bana- 
nas, and  then  go  away,  it  would  not  be  so  bad.  But 
they  pull  the  trees  down,  give  two  or  three  bites  to  a 
bunch,  leave  the  rest,  then  go  to  another  tree  and  do 
likewise,  so  that  in  a  short  time  they  have  plucked 
twenty  or  thirty  bunches.  When  tired  of  eating  they 
go  back  into  the  forest  and  the  following  morning 
they  come  again  and  take  another  meal,  return  into 
the  forest  and  late  in  the  afternoon  make  their  ap- 
pearance again  for  still  another  meal,  after  which  they 
go  into  the  forest  to  sleep.  But  the  elephants  are  our 
worst  enemies ;  when  a  herd  of  them  go  into  a  plan- 
tain field  they  destroy  it  utterly,  and  often  cause  wide- 
spread hunger  in  the  country." 

It  was  agreed  that  early  the  following  morning 
Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola,  Quabi,  and  I  should  start 
with  the  men  who  had  brought  the  news,  and  that 
we  should  take  dogs  with  us.  So  we  made  prepara- 
tions at  once.  Towards  sunset  fourteen  of  the  best 
hunting-dogs  —  the  fiercest  and  bravest,  which  were 
afraid  of  no  beast  —  were  tied  together.  Names  had 
been  given  to  them  that  denoted  the  qualities  they 
possessed.  They  were  called  "  Fierce,"  "  Never 
Sleepy,"  "  The  Attacker,"  "  He  who  never  runs 
away,"  "The  Catcher,"  "The  Never  Afraid,"  "The 
Pouncer,"  "  The  Defier,"  "  The  Sly,"  "  The  Biter," 


KING    MOMBO 

"The  Jumper,"  "The  Runner,"  "The  Watchful," 
"  The  Bloody."  They  were  indeed  a  fierce  set  of 
dogs,  covered  with  scars,  marks  of  the  wounds  they 
had  received  from  the  wild  beasts  they  had  attacked. 
They  were  all  descended  from  fierce  hunting-dogs. 
They  seemed  to  know  that  they  were  to  be  led  out 
to  the  fray,  for  they  were  all  yelping,  barking,  and 
jumping  about.  They  were  strange-looking  animals ; 
small,  with  short  hair,  straight  ears,  twisted  tails,  and 
yellow  and  black  in  color. 

As  Regundo  looked  at  them  he  said :  "  Oguizi,  if 
you  encounter  any  nginas  some  of  these  dogs  will 
not  come  back ;  they  will  be  killed  in  the  fight." 

To  this  Oshoria  returned :  "  Perhaps  it  will  be  so, 
perhaps  not ;  for  these  dogs  are  very  knowing.  They 
know  how  to  retire  or  advance  ;  their  eyes  are  sharp, 
and  they  will  watch  every  motion  of  the  nginas." 

In  the  evening  a  large  idol  was  set  in  front  of  Re- 
gundo's  house.  Women  came  with  lighted  torches, 
the  tomtoms  were  brought  out,  and  soon  a  dance 
began,  accompanied  by  wild  singing. 

Later  in  the  evening,  as  Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ngola, 
Ogoola,  Quabi,  and  I  were  seated  by  a  bright  blazing 
fire,  Regundo  broke  the  silence  and  said :  "  Oguizi, 
when  people  go  hunting,  they  have  to  be  careful  about 
not  getting  lost  in  the  great  forest.  Often  hunters 

136 


KING    MOMBO 

have  to  leave  the  paths  or  have  to  walk  in  small 
streams  for  a  long  time,  to  get  to  a  path  further  on. 
Their  eyes  have  to  be  very  sharp  in  order  not  to  pass 
it  by.  In  many  places  the  hunting  paths  are  very 
difficult  to  follow  as  there  are  hardly  any  traces  of 
them,  or  they  disappear  entirely  for  a  while  on 
account  either  of  the  growth  of  the  jungle  over  them,, 
or  of  fallen  trees.  Many  of  these  paths  are  seldom 
trodden  and  have  to  be  followed  with  the  greatest  of 
care.  At  certain  places  a  number  of  paths  come 
together  or  diverge  in  different  directions.  In  this 
case  it  is  very  important  to  make  no  mistake,  other- 
wise one  goes  entirely  out  of  his  way.  So  when  one 
gets  into  a  path  that  is  almost  entirely  obliterated,  or 
leaves  the  hunting  path,  his  eyes  must  notice  every- 
thing round  him,  every  peculiar  tree,  every  stream, 
every  rock. 

"  But  this  is  not  enough,  for  often  when  one  is  lost 
he  fancies  that  he  has  seen  such  and  such  a  tree  before, 
though  really  he  has  not.  It  is  necessary  therefore 
to  make  marks  with  your  knife  upon  the  bark  of 
trees  ;  to  break  now  and  then  young  boughs  of  trees 
on  your  right  and  on  your  left ;  to  collect  big  handfuls 
of  leaves  and  to  put  them  together  on  the  ground ;  to 
cut  off  branches  and  lay  them  across  the  path.  By 
doing  this  carefully  people  do  not  get  lost.  By  fol- 


KING    MOMBO 

lowing  these  marks  one  returns  to  the  point  whence 
he  started.  One  can  never  be  too  careful,  for  it  is 
very  dangerous  to  be  lost  in  the  great  forest.  If  you 
have  been  bewitched  you  may  die  of  starvation,  find 
neither  wild  honey,  berries,  nor  nuts.  Or  you  may 
go  so  far  out  of  your  way  that  you  come  to  a  land 
inhabited  by  another  tribe  than  yours  and  then  you 
are  captured  and  made  a  slave.  Once  lost  it  is  very 
difficult  to  get  back  to  your  starting-point.  You  turn 
round  and  round  without  knowing  it.  Once  I  was 
lost,  and  when  evening  came  I  found  myself  by  the 
same  big  tree  I  had  left  in  the  morning." 

Here  Regundo  took  a  long  breath  and  lighted  his 
pipe,  which  had  gone  out  while  he  was  speaking. 

Then  he  resumed :  "  Hunters  must  be  very  careful 
in  the  handling  of  their  guns  ;  for  the  forest  is  full  of 
creepers  and  vines  of  all  kinds.  Branches  continually 
get  in  the  way,  and  any  of  these  may  catch  the  trigger, 
and  the  gun  go  off.  Never  have  the  muzzle  of  your 
guns  pointed  towards  your  body  or  in  the  direction 
of  your  neighbor." 

"  You  are  right,  Regundo."  I  exclaimed.  ce  Besides 
one  man  must  never  point  his  gun  at  anather,  even 
though  he  calls  it  playing.  It  is  a  very  bad  sort  of 
playing.  People  are  often  killed  in  that  manner. 
Then  the  man  who  was  playing  with  his  gun,  says 

1*8 


KING    MOMBO 

that  he  thought  it  was  not  loaded.  A  man  who 
points  his  gun  towards  another  man  ought  to  be 
punished." 

"  Yes,  he  ought,"  shouted  the  hunters  with  one 
voice.  "  We  hunters  never  play  in  that  way  with  our 
guns." 

Then  came  another  pause,  after  which  Regundo 
continued :  "  A  man  who  has  not  a  cool  head  must 
never  be  a  hunter.  In  the  presence  of  a  dangerous 
beast  he  is  lost  himself  if  he  loses  his  head,  for  he 
cannot  shoot  straight.  A  cool  head  is  very  necessary 
in  the  presence  of  an  elephant,  a  ngina,  a  buffalo,  or 
a  leopard,  especially  if  you  come  suddenly  upon  them, 
or  when  they  attack  or  charge  you." 

At  the  end  of  these  words  of  wisdom  from  Regundo, 
all  shouted :  "  That  is  so,  that  is  so." 

"  Yes,"  I  said,  "  no  man  is  a  good  hunter  unless  he 
has  a  cool  head;  otherwise  he  is  sure  to  be  killed." 

After  this  little  interruption  Regundo  continued : 
"  Hunters  have  to  be  particularly  careful  when  they 
hunt  elephants,  especially  a  bull  or  c  rogue  elephant,' 
for  these  often  charge  even  when  the  bullet  is  sure  to 
cause  their  death  afterwards.  The  best  thing  that  can 
happen  is  to  kill  them  on  the  spot,  then  there  is  no 
danger  ahead.  A  man  must  be  particularly  cool- 
headed  when  an  elephant  charges.  He  must  stand 


KING    MOMBO 

perfectly  still,  looking  at  the  beast  when  he  comes 
towards  him  and  must  know  exactly  the  time  to  move, 
and  then  retreat  three  steps,  if  he  is  not  protected  by 
a  tree,  just  in  time  for  the  elephant  to  pass  before  him. 
Elephants  cannot  make  a  sudden  sharp  turn  or  stop 
at  once  when  they  charge.  They  go  straight  ahead 
and  they  do  not  return  to  charge  the  enemy  a  second 
time.  One  must  be  exceedingly  careful  not  to  ap- 
proach the  elephant,  though  he  appears  to  be  dead,  for 
sometimes  he  gets  up  suddenly  and  charges,  and  if  the 
hunter  has  not  a  clear  field,  or  is  encumbered  by 
creepers  or  trees  and  cannot  step  backward,  then  the 
elephant  will  impale  him,  trample  upon  his  body,  or 
kill  him  with  his  trunk." 

"  Yes,  yes,  that  is  surely  so,"  shouted  the  hunters. 
cc  Mbango  was  killed  in  that  manner,  two  dry  seasons 
ago.  We  found  him  dead,  the  elephant  having 
trampled  upon  him.  One  of  his  feet  had  been 
entangled  in  a  creeper,  and  he  could  not  step  back- 
ward in  time." 

Regundo  finished  his  speech  by  saying :  "  Hunters 
must  always  be  very  careful  in  shooting,  so  that  the 
bullet  does  not  hit  on  its  way  some  young  tree  or 
creeper,  for  then  the  bullet  not  only  loses  its  force, 
but  deviates  from  its  course.  But,"  he  added  thought- 
fully, "  all  precautions  are  useless  if  witchcraft  comes 

140 


Sometimes  he  suddenly  gets  up  and  charges  " 


KING    MOMBO 

in,   for   misfortune    follows    the    man   who    has    been 
bewitched." 

As  the  men  got  up  they  invoked  Mombo  and 
Olombo  to  give  them  good  luck.  "  You  know  that 
we  love  you,  that  every  time  we  kill  game  we  give  you 
some,"  they  shouted.  Then  we  bade  each  other  good- 
night. 


141 


CHAPTER   XX 

WE  START  AFTER  THE  GORILLAS  —  CAUTIOUS  WALKING 
THROUGH  THE  FOREST  —  THE  DOGS  FIND  THE 
NGINA  — YELLS  OF  THE  MONSTER.  BROUGHT  TO 
BAY  — HE  SLAUGHTERS  TWO  OF  THE  DOGS  —  TAUNTS 
OF  THE  HUNTERS  —  SHOT  THROUGH  THE  HEART 
AT  LAST. 

EARLY  in  the  morning,  just  at  dawn  of  day,  I 
was  ready  for  the  start.  Soon  Oshoria,  Ogoola, 
Ngola,  and  Quabi  made  their  appearance.  What  a 
sight  they  were  !  Their  bodies  were  daubed  all  over 
with  ochre  of  different  colors,  a  sign  that  they  were  on 
the  war-path.  Each  wore  a  broad  belt  of  charmed 
leopard  skin  over  which  incantations  from  the  medi- 
cine doctor  had  been  made  the  day  before,  and  which 
were  thereupon  pronounced  by  him  invulnerable  against 
spears,  arrows,  and  bullets.  They  were  all  covered 
with  "  mondahs,"  which  also  had  been  made  power- 
ful by  incantations  and  were  to  protect  their  lives. 
They  would  never  have  started  for  the  hunt  without 
these. 

These  charms  were  made  of  skins  of  rare  animals 
which  enclosed  the  dried  flesh  and  brains  of  rare 
monkeys  and  birds,  teeth  of  crocodiles  and  leopards, 

142 


KING    MOMBO 

feathers  of  birds,  fangs  and  brains  of  snakes,  ashes  of 
animals'  intestines  that  had  been  burned  by  the  medi- 
cine doctor,  and  rare  and  precious  land  shells,  filled  with 
charmed  ingredients. 

Oshoria  wore  a  charmed  iron  chain  which  had  been 
forged  in  a  far  country.  This  chain  was  looked  upon 
by  all  the  slaves  as  the  most  invincible  of  all  charms, 
for  Oshoria  had  met  many  dangerous  and  ferocious 
beasts,  he  had  killed  several  nginas,  and  had  never 
been  wounded.  This  chain  ran  from  his  left  shoulder 
to  his  right  side. 

The  men  had  left  that  morning  in  the  forest  an 
offering  of  a  leg  of  an  antelope  to  the  spirits  Olombo 
and  Mombo  to  propitiate  their  good  will,  so  that 
they  should  give  them  good  luck. 

Before  starting,  my  hunters  cut  the  backs  of  their 
hands  in  several  places  before  one  of  the  idols,  and 
mixed  their  blood  with  earth  and  some  kind  of  dust 
and  clay,  with  which  each  filled  a  land  shell,  carried  by 
every  man  in  a  bag,  that  also  contained  a  special 
little  idol,  to  guard  and  protect  them  from  harm. 

They  neglected  nothing  to  insure  their  lives.  Re- 
gundo  invoked  the  spirits  of  his  ancestors  in  a  loud 
voice  and  called  upon  them  to  follow  us  and  protect 
us. 

When  everything  was  ready  we  went  to  the  canoes 

*43 


KING    MOMBO 

that  were  waiting  for  us.  Into  one  we  put  the  dogs, 
Ogoola  and  Ngola  going  with  them;  Oshoria  and 
Quabi,  and  the  two  men  who  had  brought  us  news  of 
the  presence  of  the  nginas  and  were  to  act  as  our  guides 
were  in  my  canoe.  Regundo  followed  us  to  the  river 
and,  taking  my  hands,  blew  on  them  and  wished  me 
success. 

We  paddled  along  until  we  came  to  a  tree  under 
which  the  spirit  called  Mbuiri  was  supposed  to  rest 
sometimes  and  look  at  the  river.  The  men  danced 
and  sang  under  it. 

Then  we  continued  our  way  upon  the  silent  river  — 
lined  all  along  with  the  dense  forest.  We  saw  two 
huge  black  and  yellow  snakes  in  the  water.  After- 
wards we  met  a  troop  of  monkeys  which  from  a  tree 
were  looking  towards  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
They  were  chattering  among  themselves  in  great  ear- 
nest. They  wanted,  I  thought,  to  cross  to  the  other 
side  —  but  the  river  was  too  wide.  When  we  came 
near  them  they  stopped  chattering,  and  looked  down 
upon  us  as  we  passed.  When  far  enough  away  we 
heard  them  chattering  again. 

Further  up  we  landed  near  a  large  tree,  where  I  saw 
a  path.  We  partook  of  a  light  meal,  and  then,  making 
our  canoes  secure  among  the  reeds  that  hid  them  from 
sight,  we  started.  This  path  led  to  the  plantation  of 

144 


KING   MOMBO 

the  two  men  who  had  brought  the  news  of  the  nginas. 
The  dogs  were  led  by  leashes,  for  we  did  not  want 
them  to  run  in  the  forest. 

As  we  marched  in  single  file,  not  one  of  us  spoke  a 
word.  Two  or  three  times  we  heard  troops  of  mon- 
keys travelling  in  the  forest.  Once  we  heard  the  shrill 
cries  of  a  flock  of  parrots.  Suddenly  we  came  upon  a 
great  number  of  pineapple  plants ;  many  of  the  pine- 
apples had  been  eaten  up.  Oshoria  looked  at  me  and 
said  :  "  Nginas  have  been  here,  —  not  to-day,  but  two 
or  three  days  ago." 

We  continued  our  way  and  discovered  in  a  muddy 
part  of  the  path  four  footprints  of  nginas.  Their 
heel-prints  were  deep  in  the  mud  —  but  the  toe-prints 
were  hardly  visible.  Two  of  the  heels  were  much 
larger  than  the  other  two.  "  The  big  footprints  are 
those  of  a  man  ngina,"  said  Oshoria;  "the  smaller  ones 
are  those  of  his  wife."  When  looking  round  I  saw  two 
tiny  footprints  and  pointed  them  out  to  Oshoria  who 
said:  "Those  are  the  footprints  of  the  baby  ngina." 

Further  on  we  saw  along  the  path  a  place  where  the 
nginas  had  tarried,  for  the  jungle  was  much  broken, 
and  some  of  the  saplings  had  been  broken  and  partly 
chewed  or  eaten  up.  This  looked  as  if  it  had  been 
done  the  day  before.  We  all  agreed  that  the  nginas 
were  in  the  neighborhood. 
10  MS 


KING   MOMBO 

We  slept  in  the  forest  that  night.  Before  daylight 
we  were  up.  I  painted  my  face  and  hands  black 
with  powdered  charcoal  mixed  with  oil  so  that  I  might 
not  be  easily  seen.  Men  from  the  plantation,  who  had 
come  to  meet  us,  took  charge  of  the  dogs. 

After  two  hours1  walk  we  stopped,  and  one  of  the 
guides  said  something  to  Oshoria  in  a  very  low  voice 
which  I  could  not  hear.  Then  Oshoria  said :  "  We 
had  better  loose  the  dogs  and  let  them  go."  In  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye  they  were  in  the  forest  and  out  of 
sight. 

We  entered  a  large  field  of  plantain  trees.  Oshoria 
led,  I  followed,  then  came  Ngolo,  Ogoola,  and  then 
Quabi.  We  walked  very  silently,  and  our  excitement 
was  so  great  that  we  could  hear  each  other  pant. 
After  a  while  Oshoria  was  quite  a  distance  ahead  of  all 
of  us.  He  was  the  scout,  and  we  had  lost  sight  of  him 
through  the  crookedness  of  the  path.  I  stopped  to  see 
if  we  were  all  at  hand  and  then  we  continued  our  way, 
when,  after  passing  a  bend  in  the  path,  I  saw  Oshoria 
standing  still  waiting  for  us.  As  soon  as  he  saw  us  he 
gave  the  cluck  of  danger,  "  Kluk,  kluk,"  put  his  hand 
on  his  mouth  as  a  sign  not  to  speak,  then  his  hand 
towards  his  ear  as  a  sign  for  us  to  listen.  We  walked 
towards  him  without  uttering  a  word,  but  looked 
towards  each  other.  Then  Oshoria  pointed  with  his 

146 


KING   MOMBO 

finger  in  a  certain  direction.  He  had  evidently  heard 
something  that  had  attracted  his  attention  there. 

Soon  we  heard  the  peculiar  shrill  piercing  cry  of 
fear  of  a  ngina.  Oshoria  whispered  to  me :  "  That  is 
the  cry  of  a  female  gorilla  who  is  afraid  and  has  fled. 
Probably  she  has  scented  the  dogs  and  given  the  cry 
of  distrust  and  fear  to  her  mate." 

Immediately  after  we  heard  the  barking  of  our  dogs, 
followed  by  the  tremendous  yells  of  defiance  and  fight 
of  a  huge  male  gorilla  "  Whoah,  whoah;"  then  roars 
that  filled  the  forest  with  their  din,  and  seemed  to  be 
like  the  sound  of  thunder  along  the  sky.  These  roars 
almost  entirely  drowned  the  fierce  barking  of  the  four- 
teen dogs.  "  It  is  a  man  ngina,"  whispered  Oshoria. 
"  His  mate  has  fled.  Let  us  prepare  ourselves  for  a 
fight."  Instinctively  we  came  still  nearer  together 
and  looked  at  our  guns ;  my  hunters'  guns  were 
loaded  with  plugs  of  iron,  plugs  which  they  use  to 
kill  elephants.  I  looked  at  "Bulldog"  and  said: 
"  Thou  faithful  rifle,  which  hast  never  failed  me  before 
in  time  of  danger,  be  true  to  me  to-day,  be  true  to 
me ! " 

"  Let  us  go  and  fight  this  man  ngina,"  shouted 
my  men  with  eagerness  in  their  eyes  and  a  sort  of 
ferocious  joy.  This  time  they  were  not  afraid  of 
being  heard,  for  they  knew  that  the  huge  beast  was 


KING   MOMBO 

brought  to  bay  and  would  not  run  away,  but  attack. 
We  advanced  through  the  plantain  trees,  many  of 
which  had  been  pulled  down  by  the  two  nginas. 
Every  step  forward  increased  the  terrific  din  made  by 
the  fierce  barking  of  the  dogs  and  the  angry  roars  of 
the  ngina.  We  came  nearer  and  nearer  the  border  of 
the  forest,  and  soon  caught  sight  of  the  dogs.  Look- 
ing in  the  direction  where  the  most  forward  and  daring 
of  them  were  barking,  we  saw  a  huge  male  gorilla  with 
his  back  against  a  tree  and  following  with  his  eyes  the 
dogs  that  surrounded  him.  Evidently  the  huge  fiend- 
ish creature  had  never  been  attacked  by  dogs  before. 
He  was  bewildered  by  their  number  and  did  not  know 
what  to  do  except  to  yell  and  roar  at  them.  He  was 
seated,  ready  to  use  his  powerful  long  arms  or  his  feet, 
catching  the  dogs  with  his  terrible  manlike  hands  if 
they  came  near  him.  The  dogs  knew  this  and  were 
cautious  in  their  attack ;  they  advanced  and  retreated, 
led  by  "  Bloodthirsty "  and  "  Pouncer,"  closely  fol- 
lowed by  the  others. 

Suddenly  the  gorilla's  yells  and  roars  stopped.  He 
had  seen  us,  and  he  did  not  know  what  to  make  of 
these  new  enemies.  His  eyes  glanced  from  the  dogs 
to  us  —  he  seemed  to  know  that  if  he  went  after  one  of 
the  dogs  the  others  would  fall  on  him  from  everywhere. 

What  a  sight !  The  huge  creature  seemed  the  incar- 

148 


KING    MOMBO 

nation  of  ugliness.  "  No  other  creature  in  the  world 
can  look  so  ugly/*  I  said  to  myself.  His  legs  were  short 
and  bent,  he  had  such  a  broad  chest  and  such  a  protrud- 
ing abdomen,  that  it  appeared  to  contain  at  least  a 
barrel  of  the  food  he  had  devoured.  He  had  big,  power- 
ful, muscular  long  arms,  and  huge  paws,  of  which  the 
ringers  were  short  and  thick,  fiis  huge  foot  had  four 
toes  and  one  thumb.  His  body  was  thinly  covered 
with  hair,  his  face  was  intensely  black  —  blue 
black  —  his  eyes  were  deeply  sunken  in  his  head,  and 
he  looked  straight  at  us,  as  if  he  were  a  human  being. 
Tigers,  lions,  dogs,  and  other  animals  never  can 
look  in  that  way.  The  sockets  of  his  eyes  were  evi- 
dently like  those  of  man,  allowing  him  to  look  in  the 
same  manner.  His  hair  stood  erect  all  over  his  body 
owing  to  his  rage  —  and  that  on  his  head  moved 
up  and  down,  and  he  beat  his  breast.  But  in  spite 
of  all  that  he  had  an  anxious  expression  in  his  eyes, 
which  were  looking  all  round,  for  he  had  never  been 
surrounded  by  so  many  enemies  before,  dogs  and  men, 
and  this  was  the  reason  he  had  put  himself  against 
a  tree  —  so  that  no  dog  could  attack  him  from  be- 
hind —  and  thus  placed  he  could  see  all  his  foes. 

Our  guns  were  pointed  at  him  in  the  direction  of  his 
heart,  and  at  the  least  advance  he  made  towards  us  we 
would  have  fired.  The  only  thing  I  feared  was  that 

149 


KING    MOMBO 

instead  of  advancing  erect  to  attack  us,  he  would  drop 
on  all  fours,  being  surrounded  by  so  many  enemies, 
and  would  run  towards  us  in  that  posture ;  then   it 
would  have  been  far   more   difficult  to  shoot  at  and 
wound  him  mortally.     I  noticed  blood  on  one  of  his 
hands  and  then  I  saw  at  about  five  or  six  feet  from 
him  the  prostrate  form  of  one  of  the  dogs.     It  was 
"  Fierce."     My  men  saw  the  dog  at  the  same  time  — 
<c  Fierce  "  was  one  of  the  most  intrepid  of  their  dogs. 
They  shouted  to  the  ngina  :  "  You  have  killed  fierce 
c  Fierce/    We  will  kill  you  also."     The  gorilla  became 
so  hard  pressed  by  the  dogs  that  he  had  no  time  to 
yell,  for  he  was  too  busy  looking  round  for  them ;  he 
only  uttered  now  and  then,  when  one  came  too  near,  a 
"  Whoah  wah."    The  dogs  were  ready  to  spring  on  him 
as  soon  as  they  had  an  opportunity.     They  watched 
their  time,  but  the  huge  ngina  was  watching  them  also; 
he  knew  what  they  were  about,  and  as  soon  as  they 
came  within  his  reach  he  would,  by  a  sudden  motion  of 
his  long  arm  shoot  it  forward  and  try  to  catch  the  most 
daring  one  that  came^near  him,  sometimes  using  his 
legs  and  feet  instead.      My  hunters  were  cool  —  but 
they  were  on  the  war-path  and  had  met  their  enemy. 
Oshoria,  Ngola,    Ogoola,    Quabi,  shouted  words  of 
defiance  to  the  gorilla  such  as  —  "  We  are  men.     Yes, 
we  are  men.     Come  towards  us,  if  you  dare.     We  are 


The  big  monster   .   .   .   seized  ^Bloodthirsty  '  and  threw 
him  dead  on  the  ground" 


KING    MOMBO 

ready  for  you.  We  are  not  afraid  of  you  —  though 
you  look  at  us  straight  in  the  face.  We  laugh  at 
you.  How  do  you  dare  to  yell  at  the  Oguizi.  Soon 
you  will  hear  c  Bulldog  '  talk  to  you.  Our  guns  will 
talk  to  you  also.  Ngina,  you  are  a  coward  —  come 
towards  us  if  you  are  not  afraid.  You  have  only  a 
short  time  to  live ;  soon  you  will  lie  dead  at  the  feet 
of  the  Oguizi." 

Then  they  gave  a  terrific  war-cry,  the  one  used 
before  attacking  their  enemy,  and  the  gorilla  uttered  a 
terrific  yell  of  defiance  in  response.  The  dogs  had 
become  bolder  and  bolder,  and  more  and  more  angry. 
Suddenly  "  Bloodthirsty  "  came  too  near  the  ngina, 
and  before  he  had  time  to  retreat,  and  quicker  than 
the  eye  could  follow,  the  big  monster  had  sent  his 
powerful  arm  forward  and  with  his  huge  hand  seized 
"  Bloodthirsty  "  and  threw  him  dead  on  the  ground. 
At  this  the  other  dogs,  enraged  by  the  loss  of  their 
two  companions,  lost  control  of  themselves  —  forgot 
all  prudence  —  and  as  they  were  on  the  point  of  jumping 
on  the  huge  beast,  which  now  was  uttering  terrific 
yells,  I,  not  wishing  the  men  to  lose  more  dogs,  said 
"  Fire  !  "  and  we  all  shot  at  the  same  time.  The  huge 
monster  fell  forward  on  his  face,  shot  through  the 
heart.  In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  dogs  jumped  on 
him  and  he  was  torn  to  pieces. 


KING    MOMBO 

Poor  "  Fierce  "  and  <c  Bloodthirsty,"  were  dead. 
Regundo  was  right  when  he  said  that  if  we  met  with 
nginas  all  the  dogs  would  not  return. 

Then  my  hunters  went  round  the  ngina,  and,  look- 
ing at  him,  shouted:  "We  were  not  afraid  of  you. 
When  the  Oguizi  looked  at  you,  it  was  just  the  same 
as  if  you  were  dead,  for  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
kill  you  as  soon  as  he  saw  you." 

Then  I  cut  off  his  head,  as  a  trophy,  and,  carrying 
it  with  us,  we  went  back  to  the  plantation  and  saw 
our  three  guides, who  had  left  us  as  soon  as  they  thought 
the  nginas  were  near.  We  laughed  at  them. 

The  following  day  we  were  on  our  way  back  to  my 
hunters'  home.  When  we  reached  the  plantation, 
Oshoria  carried  the  head  of  the  gorilla  on  a  pole, 
Regundo  and  the  other  people  welcoming  us  back 
with  great  expressions  of  joy.  In  the  meantime,  my 
clock  had  stopped,  and  was  silent  under  the  veranda, 
and  Regundo  and  the  other  people  thought  that  the 
spirits  that  were  in  it  had  followed  me.  Their  belief 
in  this  increased  when  they  saw  that  after  my  return 
the  tick  of  the  clock  began  again. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

SINGULAR  SIGHT  IN  THE  FOREST  —  ALL  KINDS  OF  ANI- 
MALS FLEEING  IN  ONE  DIRECTION  —  A  TERRIBLE 
ANT  — THE  BASHIKOUAY  ARMY  —  ATTACKED  EVERY- 
WHERE AT  ONCE— HOW  I  ESCAPED  THE  TORMEN- 
TORS. 

A  FEW  days  after  my  return  from  the  gorilla 
hunt  I  found  myself  one  morning  all  alone. 
Regundo  had  gone  for  the  day.  The  men  were  cut- 
ting trees  for  a  new  plantation,;  the  women  were  weed- 
ing the  fields.  Feeling  somewhat  lonely,  I  left  for  the 
forest,  armed  with  a  gun.  I  became  so  interested  on 
my  way  in  collecting  insects  and  butterflies  that  the 
time  passed  quickly,  and  before  I  was  aware  of  it 
the  greater  part  of  the  day  had  gone,  and  I  could 
not  reach  the  plantation  before  dark.  Knowing  this 
I  decided  to  remain  and  camp  in  the  forest,  for  it  was 
impossible  to  follow  the  path  in  the  darkness.  I  had 
no  torch  with  me,  and  a  leopard  might  pounce  upon 
me  while  on  my  way.  So  I  lighted  a  fire,  collected 
large  leaves,  built  my  camp,  and  gathered  a  lot  of  dead 
wood,  for  I  intended  to  surround  myself  by  four  fires 
during  the  night  to  make  sure  that  no  wild  beasts  or 


KING   MOMBO 

snakes  should  come  near  me.  I  slept  well,  waking  two 
or  three  times  during  the  night  to  attend  to  the  fires. 
The  following  morning  I  determined  to  go  a  little  further 
before  I  retraced  my  steps  towards  the  plantation. 

After  a  while  I  noticed  a  number  of  snakes  which 
seemed  to  follow  each  other  in  rapid  succession,  creep- 
ing as  fast  as  they  could,  and  all  going  in  the  same 
direction.  Two  or  three  of  these  passed  close  to  me. 

Suddenly  I  heard  the  tramping  of  elephants  through 
the  jungles  breaking  down  everything  before  them, 
and  apparently  running  as  fast  as  they  could.  One  of 
them  crossed  the  path  in  sight  of  me.  They  were 
going  in  the  same  direction  as  the  snakes. 

These  were  followed  by  a  number  of  gazelles,  ante- 
lopes and  wild  boars.  The  forest  seemed  alive  with 
beasts.  These  went  also  in  the  same  direction  that  the 
snakes  and  elephants  had  gone. 

I  stood  still  for  a  moment,  for  I  had  never  seen 
such  a  sight  before,  when  to  my  utter  astonishment  a 
leopard  passed  near  by,  bounding  and  running  as  fast 
as  it  could  in  the  direction  of  the  other  animals. 
"  What  is  the  cause  of  this  leopard  leaving  his  lair  during 
the  day  time,  for  they  generally  sleep  during  the  day  ?  " 
I  asked  myself.  A  strange  feeling  of  fear  and  awe 
came  over  me.  I  thought  that  some  great  convulsion 
of  nature  was  about  to  take  place.  The  earth  was  per- 


KING    MOMBO 

haps  to  open,  and  a  volcano  burst  out  at  the  spot  where 
I  stood.  An  involuntary  dread  that  something  grave 
was  to  happen  came  over  me.  The  forest  became 
alive  with  multitudes  of  insects  and  butterflies.  They 
too  were  fleeing,  and  in  the  same  direction  which  the 
animals  had  taken  before  them.  A  great  number 
of  insectivorous  birds  followed  them,  preying  on 
them  in  their  flight.  In  a  word,  all  the  living  creatures 
of  the  forest  were  in  a  panic,  and  were  all  fleeing  in 
the  same  direction. 

Just  as  I  was  about  to  retrace  my  steps  and  run  as 
fast  as  I  could  towards  the  plantation,  I  found  my- 
self suddenly  covered  with  countless  ants,  which  bit 
me  with  the  greatest  ferocity.  In  an  instant  they  were 
biting  me  everywhere,  —  on  my  legs,  on  my  arms,  on 
my  back,  on  my  neck,  they  were  in  my  hair.  As  I 
ran  I  tried  to  kill  those  that  were  on  my  body,  those 
that  were  outside  had  their  pincers  fast  in  my  clothes. 
They  were  also  everywhere  around  me,  on  the  ground 
and  on  the  trees. 

These  ants  were  the  fierce  bashikouays.  They 
were  on  the  war-path,  and  attacked  on  their  march 
every  leaving  creature.  Fortunately  I  could  run  away 
in  the  path  faster  than  they  could  advance,  but  I 
could  not  get  rid  of  those  that  were  already  on  me. 
After  about  one  hour's  run  I  came  to  a  stream,  took 

'55 


KING    MOMBO 

off  my  watch  and  put  it  on  the  ground,  and  then 
lay  flat  at  the  bottom  of  the  shallow  water,  in  order 
that  it  might  cover  me  entirely,  and  drown  the  ants. 
I  did  not  dare  to  stay  too  long  in  the  water,  for  fear 
that  the  bashikouay  army  would  overtake  me.  For- 
tunately I  succeeded  ere  long  in  drowning  them,  for 
I  did  not  feel  any  more  bites. 

Panting  and  out  of  breath  I  reached  the  plantation 
before  dark,  and  I  told  Regundo  about  the  bashikouays, 
and  how  animals  and  insects  had  fled  at  their  approach, 
but  did  not  tell  him  how  I  had  been  bitten  by  them. 

Regundo  said  :  "  These  ants  are  called  bashikouays, 
and  they  were  on  the  war-path." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  Regundo,  when  you  say  that 
the  bashikouays  were  on  the  war-path  ? "  I  asked. 

"  When  they  are  not  on  the  war-path,"  he  replied, 
"they  walk  close  together  in  a  line.  They  are  as 
thick  as  the  grains  of  dry  earth  or  of  sand  on  the 
sandy  shores  of  a  river ;  then  they  are  harmless,  for 
they  attack  no  one.  But  when  they  scatter,  they 
attack  every  living  thing  that  comes  in  their  way. 
They  even  climb  trees,  going  after  insects.  Gorillas, 
elephants,  leopards,  all  living  things,  flee  before  them. 
When  they  come  into  our  villages  or  into  our  houses, 
we  have  to  protect  ourselves,  our  children,  and  our 
babies,  by  boiling  water,  fire,  and  hot  ashes." 

156 


KING    MOMBO 

Two  or  three  days  after  my  adventure  with  the 
bashikouays,  Regundo  came  to  me,  saying :  "  Follow 
me,  and  you  will  see  the  bashikouay  ants  in  marching 
order ;  they  are  harmless,  for  they  are  not  on  the  war- 
path." 

I  followed  him,  and  soon  after  he  stopped  and  said  : 
"  Here  they  are,"  and  I  saw  a  moving  line  of  bashi- 
kouays  crossing  the  pass,  the  line  being  about  two 
inches  in  width. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

A  JOURNEY  TO  THE  ELEPHANT  COUNTRY  —  SERIOUS 
ANNOYANCE  FROM  FLIES,  WASPS,  AND  MOSQUITOES 
—  IN  THE  MIDST  OF  A  DROVE  OF  HIPPOPOTAMI. 

1WAS  anxious  to  go  on  a  long  hunting  expedition. 
One  day  when  Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola, 
Quabi,  and  I  were  seated  under  a  big  tree,  I  said  to 
them  :  "  We  must  go  and  hunt  elephants,  hippopot- 
ami, crocodiles,  and  other  big  game/*  This  suggestion 
was  received  with  sonorous  grunts  of  approbation  by 
them  all,  and  it  was  agreed  that  we  should  prepare 
ourselves  for  a  long  expedition. 

The  following  day  I  saw  Oshoria  slyly  entering  the 
idol  house,  and  after  he  had  closed  the  door  behind 
him  I  approached  the  house  and,  peeping  through  a 
crack,  saw  that  he  was  marking  his  body  with  ochre 
of  different  colors.  Then  he  muttered  words  to  the 
idol  that  I  could  not  understand.  Afterwards  he  took 
from  a  little  wooden  box  a  piece  of  red  ochre  and 
made  a  mark  with  it  between  his  eyes,  and  another 
mark  in  the  hollow  of  his  chest,  and  then  spoke  very 
fast.  Then  he  went  to  another  box,  and  took  from  it 
a  charmed  necklace,  to  which  was  hung  a  sort  of  small 

158 


KING   MOMBO 

iron  bell,  which  was  filled  with  charmed  powder  and 
which  he  put  around  his  neck.  When  I  saw  that  he 
was  ready  to  come  out  I  retired  as  quickly  as  possible. 

For  three  days  great  preparations  were  made  for 
our  hunting  expedition.  The  wives  of  the  hunters 
prepared  food  for  us.  Dear  Regundo  invoked  every 
evening  the  spirits  of  his  ancestors  to  protect  us.  The 
ouganga  or  medicine  doctor,  made  incantations  for 
our  success,  and  said  that  we  were  to  be  lucky. 

We  started  with  two  canoes,  the  people  following 
us  to  the  banks  of  the  river.  As  the  day  advanced  it 
became  very  warm,  for  there  was  not  a  breath  of  wind 
on  the  river.  It  was  a  good  day  for  flies  ;  they  plagued 
us  sadly,  attacking  us  with  great  persistency.  I  was 
kept  busy  all  the  time  handling  my  elephant-tail  to 
protect  myself  against  them,  but  when  they  got 
between  its  long,  coarse,  black  hairs  it  meant  death  to 
them.  My  eyes  had  to  be  everywhere  in  order  to 
watch  for  them,  and  my  ears  very  quick  to  find  out 
where  they  were  flying ;  but  in  spite  of  all  my  watch- 
fulness they  succeeded  in  giving  me  now  and  then  a 
sting. 

Suddenly  we  would  hear  a  sharp  whiz ;  then  the  men 
would  shout  at  once  :  "  Look  out,  there  is  an  ibolay 
flying  around."  They  were  not  mistaken.  There 
was  an  ibolay,  flying  with  such  rapidity  that  he  was  no 


KING   MOMBO 

sooner  seen  than  lost  to  sight.  I  kept  a  sharp  look- 
out for  him,  ready  to  strike  with  my  elephant's  tail, 
but  I  was  stung  twice  by  one  during  the  day.  It  was 
worse  than  the  sting  of  a  bee.  I  had  to  be  quiet,  for 
it  would  not  have  done  for  an  Oguizi  to  utter  cries  of 
pain,  but  it  was  very  hard  sometimes  not  to  do  so. 

Another  fly,  the  iboca,  of  the  size  of  a  hornet,  also 
quick  in  its  motion,  gave  the  severest  bite  of  all ; 
my  clothes  were  no  protection  whatever.  Often  the 
blood  ran  down  the  face  or  body  of  the  men  that  were 
bitten.  The  fly  that  annoyed  us  most  was  the 
nchouna,  which  was  very  numerous.  We  could  not  tell 
of  its  approach,  for  it  came  unobserved  and  silently 
and  had  inserted  its  bill  so  gently  that  it  got  its 
fill  of  blood  before  we  knew  we  were  bitten.  After- 
wards the  itching  began,  and  lasted  several  hours, 
varied  at  intervals  by  certain  sharp  stabs  of  pain.  We 
paddled  as  often  as  we  could  under  the  branches  of 
trees  overhanging  the  water,  to  be  protected  from  the 
powerful  sun.  Once,  to  our  utter  dismay,  our  canoe 
went  bang  into  an  elonay's  nest.  The  elonay  is  a  very 
fierce  wasp.  There  are  no  flies  the  natives  dread  so 
much.  The  men  shouted :  "  The  elonays  are  after 
us ;  let  us  get  out  of  the  way,"  and  we  paddled  as  fast 
as  we  could,  to  be  out  of  their  reach.  Ogoola,  Ngola, 
and  Quabi  seemed  to  be  the  men  they  chiefly 

1 60 


KING   MOMBO 

attacked.  These  threw  themselves  into  the  water. 
They  did  not  think  of  crocodiles  or  anything  else. 
They  kept  under  water  quite  a  while,  and  after  a  time 
came  back  on  board.  The  bite  of  the  elonays  is  very 
painful.  It  leaves  an  acrid  poison,  which  causes 
pain  for  two  or  three  days.  At  intervals  the  poison 
seems  to  gather  fresh  force,  and  the  wound  begins  to 
throb. 

That  night  we  slept  in  our  canoes.  During  the 
night  there  was  a  constant  howling  of  wild  beasts.  I 
thought  the  forest  was  full  of  leopards,  hyenas,  and 
unknown  fierce  creatures.  Fortunately,  our  canoes 
were  at  anchor  far  away  from  the  banks,  and  the  hun- 
gry animals  could  not  reach  or  spring  upon  us.  Evi- 
dently they  scented  us,  and  would  have  been  delighted 
to  make  a  meal  of  some  of  our  number. 

The  mosquitoes  troubled  us  so  much  that  we  were 
glad  when  morning  came.  Then  we  were  bothered 
by  sand-flies.  These  disappeared  when  the  sun  became 
powerful  enough  to  drive  them  away,  but  the  flies  that 
delight  in  the  sun  and  the  heat  of  the  day  took  their 
place.  The  rivers  are  far  worse  than  the  forest  in 
regard  to  flies. 

Suddenly  Oshoria,  who  steered  my  canoe,  shouted : 
"  Ngooboos  [hippotami]  ahead/'  Then  he  added : 
"  They  are  in  the  middle  of  the  stream  ;  let  us  go  near 
ii  161 


KING    MOMBO 

the  shore."  The  men  stopped  paddling,  and  we  all 
looked  in  the  direction  in  which  Oshoria  pointed,  and  saw 
a  herd  of  hippopotami,  looking  like  stranded  logs  on  the 
water,  for  they  did  not  move.  We  paddled  slowly 
and  noiselessly  close  to  the  shore,  so  that  the  huge 
beasts  could  not  see  us.  We  came  nearer  and  nearer 
to  them  every  minute.  I  counted  twenty-two  hippo- 
potami. 

My  attention  was  suddenly  attracted  to  a  part  of  the 
river  where  I  heard  peculiar  loud  sounds,  or  grunts. 
Looking  in  that  direction,  I  saw  two  bull  hippopotami 
by  themselves,  fighting  with  each  other.  They  rushed 
towards  each  other,  —  then  disappeared  under  the 
water,  and  reappeared  again.  Their  big,  ugly  mouths, 
when  opened,  showed  us  their  tusks.  They  attacked 
with  great  fierceness,  lacerating  each  other's  bodies 
with  their  crooked  tusks.  Finally  one  was  victori- 
ous, and  the  other  swam  away  as  fast  as  he  could. 

We  approached  the  hippopotami  slowly  and  with 
caution,  to  within  fifty  yards  of  the  herd,  without 
seeming  to  attract  their  attention.  "  Let  us  paddle 
nearer,"  I  said  to  the  men.  We  came  within  twenty- 
five  yards,  and  then  I  took  "  Bulldog,"  and  aim- 
ing at  the  ear,  as  one  of  their  vulnerable  spots,  I 
fired.  The  animal  sank.  I  found  that  it  was  of  no 
use  to  kill  a  hippopotamus  in  the  water,  for  they  sink 

162 


I 


_J 


KING    MOMBO 

to  the  bottom.  The  whole  herd  of  hippopotami 
became  much  excited  at  the  shot,  snorted  and  plunged 
under  the  water,  —  disappearing  and  reappearing,  — 
and  soon  the  animals  were  seen  scattered  in  every 
direction  around  us.  They  dived,  and  when  they 
rose  some  of  them  came  dangerously  near.  I  became 
fearful  they  would  upset  our  canoes,  and  that  if  they 
succeeded  in  doing  so,  they  would  attack  us,  and  their 
big  crooked  tusks  were  sure  to  make  short  work  of 
our  poor  bodies.  Oshoria  ordered  that  we  should 
paddle  as  fast  as  we  could  to  get  out  of  their  way.  One 
of  the  hippopotami  swam  under  our  canoe,  and  rose 
about  three  yards  from  us.  But  we  kept  on  our  way 
untouched,  and  a  few  miles  further  upstream  we  came 
to  another  herd  of  these  unwieldy  creatures,  sporting 
and  snorting  in  the  water,  now  popping  their  huge 
unshapely  heads  out,  then  diving  to  the  bottom. 

We  passed  this  herd,  and  after  paddling  two  or  three 
miles  further  we  saw  two  cow  hippopotami,  with  their 
little  ones  apparently  resting  on  their  backs. 


163 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

MUDBANKS  COVERED  WITH  CROCODILES  —  HOW  THEY 
STALK  THEIR  PREY  —  AN  UNSUSPECTING  BOAR  SUD- 
DENLY SWALLOWED  UP  —  HABITS  OF  THE  HUGE 
CREATURES. 

WE  continued  on  our  way,  and  about  two  hours 
afterwards  entered  a  small  creek,  and  then 
got  into  very  tall  and  dense  reeds,  through  which  we 
had  great  difficulty  in  advancing.  Suddenly  we  emerged 
into  a  shallow  lake,  and  I  saw  a  strange  sight. 

I  could  hardly  believe  my  own  eyes.  Hundreds 
of  huge  crocodiles,  and  other  hundreds  of  smaller  ones 
were  to  be  seen  everywhere  resting  on  the  muddy 
islands  basking  in  the  powerful  rays  of  the  sun.  At  first 
I  thought  they  were  logs  of  dark  wood  stranded  on  the 
mud.  In  some  places  the  crocodiles  were  solitary,  —  in 
others,  three  or  four,  and  sometimes  ten  or  twelve  were 
together.  I  had  never  seen  so  many  crocodiles  before. 

Paddling  cautiously,  we  kept  gazing  at  the  croco- 
diles. I  did  not  wish  to  fire  a  shot  at  them,  for  I 
did  not  want  to  disturb,  but  to  watch  them.  Oshoria, 
who  was  steering,  said  :  "  Oguizi,  look  there  !  "  point- 
ing at  the  same  time  with  his  finger  in  the  direction 

164 


KING    MOMBO 

towards  which  he  wanted  to  draw  my  attention.  Fol- 
lowing his  gesture,  I  saw  a  herd  of  yellow  wild  boars 
standing  near  the  shore.  Watching  them  in  the  water 
was  a  large  crocodile.  His  big  head  was  the  only 
part  of  his  body  that  could  be  seen.  After  a  while  we 
noticed  his  head  moving  slowly  towards  the  shore. 
He  left  hardly  a  ripple  behind  him.  Then  the  head 
became  stationary  once  more. 

The  boars  grunted  as  they  advanced  towards  the 
water,  headed  by  their  leader.  Suddenly  they  stopped 
and  gave  peculiar  grunts  unlike  those  they  had  first 
given.  They  were  talking  among  themselves.  Then 
all  went  on  the  muddy  bank.  They  were  evidently 
having  a  grand  time  in  the  mud. 

Once  more  we  saw  the  head  of  the  crocodile  moving 
and  getting  nearer  and  nearer  the  boars.  The  boars 
appeared  to  feel  uneasy.  Suddenly  the  head  of  the 
crocodile  disappeared  entirely  under  the  water.  The 
boars  became  quieter,  and  continued  to  enjoy  them- 
selves. 

Oshoria  said :  "  The  crocodile  is  swimming  under 
the  water.  It  has  done  this  to  fool  the  boars.  Watch, 
Oguizi.  Soon  you  will  see  the  crocodile  again." 

I  watched  intently  and  all  at  once  I  saw  the  croco- 
dile's head  reappear  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  It 
was  hardly  perceptible,  and  quite  near  the  shore  this 

165 


KING    MOMBO 

time.  Before  I  had  time  to  think,  I  saw  a  huge  croco- 
dile amidst  the  boars  and  seizing  one  of  them  in  its 
powerful  jaws.  All  the  rest  gave  a  squeal  of  fear 
and  fled. 

The  teeth  of  the  crocodile  were  fastened  into  the 
boar's  body  and  as  quickly  as  he  had  come  the  mon- 
ster disappeared  in  the  thick  reeds  which  were  close 
by  to  devour  his  prey.  The  men,  laughing,  said : 
"How  much  better  lodged  the  meat  of  the  boar 
would  have  been  in  our  stomachs  instead  of  in  that 
of  the  crocodile." 

We  left  this  spot  and  continued  to  paddle  amid 
muddy  black  islands  covered  with  crocodiles.  I  said 
to  my  hunters :  "  We  must  not  camp  on  the  shores 
of  the  lake,  for  we  shall  surely  be  attacked  by  croco- 
diles." Pointing  to  one  that  seemed  to  be  eighteen 
or  twenty  feet  long,  I  said :  "  Look  at  his  big  jaws ; 
he  would  make  short  work  of  one  of  you  if  you  got 
between  them." 

"He  would  !  "  they  all  shouted  with  one  voice, 
"  but  we  won't  give  him  a  chance." 

"We  will  camp  on  the  top  of  that  high  hill  yon- 
der," said  Oshoria,  at  the  same  time  pointing  out  the 
place  to  me,  "  for  that  is  near  the  path  that  will  lead 
us  to  the  elephants'  hunting-ground."  He  had  hardly 
uttered  these  last  words  when  we  passed  near  a  muddy 

166 


KING    MOMBO 

bank  just  above  the  water,  upon  which  I  counted  nine 
big  crocodiles  ;  not  one  of  them  seemed  less  than  fifteen 
feet  in  length.  They  were  perfectly  motionless  and 
looked  exactly  as  if  they  were  dead. 

Oshoria  said :  "  How  quiet  they  are,  Oguizi ! 
They  seem  so  harmless  and  so  sleepy,  but  they  look 
round  slyly  with  their  cunning  eyes.  When  hungry 
they  often  hide  among  the  reeds.  Once  I  came  here 
to  hunt,  and  three  of  my  dogs  were  eaten  by  them. 
The  dogs  when  thirsty  come  to  the  lake  to  drink,  and 
then  are  seized  by  the  crocodiles." 

"  Oguizi,"  said  Ogoola,  "  when  a  crocodile  knows  a 
spot  where  animals  come  to  drink  he  remains  quiet 
near  by  and  watches  constantly.  When  he  sees  the 
game  he  dives  away  to  make  the  beast  unsuspicious, 
as  we  have  seen  one  do  with  the  boars,  —  then  quick 
as  a  bird  of  prey  he  pounces  upon  his  victim,  seizes  it 
in  his  powerful  jaws  and  carries  it  to  some  retired  spot 
to  devour  it." 

In  the  evening  we  camped  on  the  top  of  the  hill 
just  by  the  path  that  led  to  the  elephant  country. 
We  lighted  big  fires,  and  after  supper  I  said :  "  To- 
morrow we  will  take  to  the  lake  and  kill  some  of  the 
big  crocodiles." 

"  You  are  our  Oguizi ;  we  will  follow  you  every- 
where," they  replied. 


KING    MOMBO 

As  we  were  seated  by  the  fire  Oshoria  said  :  "  There 
was  a  time  when  there  were  several  villages  on  Croco- 
dile Lake,  for  the  land  around  is  good  for  cultivating 
and  there  is  much  game  in  the  forest.  There  are  yet 
two  or  three  villages  left,  which  we  cannot  see  from  here. 

"  Now,  Oguizi,  I  am  going  to  tell  you  a  sad  story. 
Years,  years  ago,  there  lived  in  a  village  by  Croco- 
dile Lake  a  beautiful  woman,  the  wife  of  a  great 
hunter.  All  the  people  loved  them,  for  they  were 
kind,  and  when  the  man  killed  game  he  always 
used  to  divide  the  meat  with  other  people.  He  loved 
his  wife  dearly.  One  day  as  they  were  crossing  the 
lake  a  tornado  overtook  them  and  upset  their  canoe. 
Just  as  they  were  on  the  point  of  reaching  the  shore, 
a  crocodile  that  was  in  the  weeds  near  by,  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye  seized  the  man's  wife  and  disap- 
peared, the  poor  woman  uttering  a  fearful  shriek ; 
then  all  became  silent. 

"  Oguizi,"  he  added,  "a  man  who  loved  that 
woman  had  changed  his  shape  into  that  of  a  crocodile 
and  carried  her  off.  That  man,  who  lived  in  the  same 
village,  was  never  seen  afterward." 

"  But,"  I  said,  "  Oshoria,  that  man  was  probably 
devoured  by  a  leopard  or  a  crocodile." 

"  No,"  Oshoria  replied,  "  it  was  witchcraft." 

After  this  story  we  went  to  sleep.  The  following 

168 


I 

- 


s- 


KING    MOMBO 

morning  we  were  once  more  on  the  lake.  The  croco- 
diles were  far  more  lively  than  the  day  before.  They 
disappeared  constantly  under  the  water  and  reappeared. 
Oshoria  was  forward  in  my  canoe,  watching  for  croco- 
diles. We  wanted  to  kill  one  that  we  could  haul 
easily.  We  paddled  along  until  we  saw  one  that  was 
in  the  right  place,  and  then  steered  towards  the  big, 
ugly,  sly  creature. 

When  Ngola  saw  me  take  "  Bulldog "  he  said, 
"  Crocodile,  your  days  are  numbered.  c  Bulldog  ' 
will  kill  you,  and  you  will  eat  no  more  wild  boars, 
antelopes,  and  gazelles.  What  a  nice  necklace  your 
teeth  will  make!" 

We  paddled  in  such  a  manner  as  to  keep  in  the 
rear  of  the  crocodile,  for  I  wanted  to  shoot  him 
behind  one  of  his  forelegs.  The  beast  was  appar- 
ently asleep.  The  men  used  their  paddles  so  care- 
fully that  we  could  hardly  hear  them  going  through 
the  water.  Coming  into  position,  I  aimed  behind  the 
right  shoulder  and  fired.  Dear  "  Bulldog "  did  his 
work  well.  The  monster  advanced  about  a  yard 
towards  the  water,  slamming  his  tail  to  help  him,  but 
he  died  before  he  could  reach  it. 

"  Let  us  try  to  get  at  the  crocodile "  I  said  to 
Oshoria,  to  which  he  replied  :  "  We  will  try,  but  it  will 
be  difficult,  for  the  mud  is  very  soft  and  dangerous/ ' 

169 


KING    MOMBO 

cc  It  is  sure  death,"  they  all  shouted. 

"Then,"  I  answered,  "  we  will  not  try  to  get  the 
crocodile  into  our  canoe.  Let  us  go  back  and  get 
that  old  abandoned  canoe  we  saw  near  the  shore  on 
our  way  here,  break  it  up  into  three  boards,  bring 
them  with  us,  lay  them  on  the  mud  and  walk  upon 
them  to  where  the  beast  lies ;  then  with  the  help  of  a 
rope  we  will  haul  him  off."  The  suggestion  was 
received  with  shouts  of  approval  and  we  went  for  the 
old  canoe  to  carry  out  my  suggestion. 

On  our  return  we  succeeded  in  putting  the  croco- 
dile upon  one  of  the  boards  and  then  after  a  great  deal 
of  work  we  dragged  the  board  with  the  crocodile  upon 
it  into  the  water  and  towed  our  prize  towards  our 
camp. 

Near  the  landing  I  spied  a  very  large  crocodile  on 
the  shore.  When  we  came  near  enough,  we  all  took 
aim  and  fired  at  the  same  time,  and  killed  the  beast 
instantly.  He  hardly  moved.  It  was  an  enormous 
one,  over  twenty  feet  long.  What  powerful  jaws, 
what  tremendous,  long  round  teeth !  We  ate  croco- 
dile for  supper.  Before  going  to  sleep,  the  men 
rubbed  their  bodies  with  oil,  for  their  skin  was  blistered 
by  the  sun,  and  they  seemed  very  comfortable  after- 
wards. 


170 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

DIFFICULTY  OF  MAKING  OUR  WAY— FALLEN  TREES  AND 
DENSE  THICKETS  — OUR  MEAT  GIVES  OUT— LOOK- 
ING FOR  KOOLA  TREES  — A  MEAL  OF  THEIR  NUTRI- 
TIOUS NUTS  — THEIR  IMPORTANCE  TO  THE  TRAV- 
ELLER IN  THE  FOREST. 

NEXT  morning  we  determined  to  leave  Crocodile 
Lake  and  go  at  once  to  the  elephant  country. 

We  breakfasted  on  crocodile,  to  save  our  provis- 
ions. We  hauled  up  our  canoes  and  hid  them  in  the 
forest.  Then  we  started.  Once  more  we  were  in  the 
great  forest ;  the  foliage  was  so  thick  that  no  one  could 
see  the  sun  or  the  sky. 

We  could  not  walk  fast  enough  to  please  me,  for  I 
wished  to  reach  the  elephant  hunting-ground.  The 
path  was  difficult  to  follow,  for  it  was  so  little  used. 
Our  advance  was  impeded  by  fallen  trees  blocking  the 
path.  The  big  ones  had  brought  down  with  them 
many  others.  So  we  had  sometimes  to  go  through 
acres  of  broken  branches,  losing  the  path.  In  many 
places  we  had  to  creep  under  low  branches  with  our 
bodies  bent,  looking  more  like  apes  than  human  be- 
ings. We  had  to  climb  or  go  under  fallen  trees,  or 

171 


KING   MOMBO 

jump  from  one  root  to  another,  these  often  being 
over  a  foot  above  the  ground,  —  or  else  we  walked  for 
hours  in  the  bed  of  a  stream. 

Fortunately  I  was  in  my  teens,  and  weighed  only  a 
little  over  one  hundred  pounds.  I  was  then  only  five 
feet  two  inches  tall.  Had  I  been  a  tall  and  heavy  fel- 
low I  should  have  had  an  awfully  hard  time  to  creep 
through  the  jungle.  To-day  I  am  but  five  feet  four 
inches  and  a  half  in  height. 

We  travelled  the  whole  day  in  a  northern  direction 
towards  a  prairie  country.  A  little  before  sunset  we 
built  our  camp.  The  fires  were  kept  blazing  all  night, 
for  in  the  region  were  many  leopards,  besides  snakes 
crawling  at  night.  We  built  fifteen  fires  in  a  circle, 
and  slept  in  the  centre,  the  smoke  driving  the  mos- 
quitoes away. 

During  the  night  the  men  on  the  watch  were 
startled  by  a  rustling  in  the  jungle.  They  awoke  me 
at  once  —  the  noise  was  close  to  our  camp.  The 
men  thought  some  one  was  trying  to  approach  our 
place  and  to  surprise  us.  We  could  not  see  far  away, 
for  the  bright  fires  blinded  us.  An  unseen  enemy  in 
the  dark  could  see  us,  while  we  could  not  discover 
him.  The  men  went,  with  their  fingers  on  the  triggers 
of  their  guns,  to  the  place  whence  they  thought  the 
noise  proceeded.  There  was  no  one  there. 

172 


KING    MOMBO 

Another  time  our  suspicions  were  aroused  by  a  rust- 
ling of  branches ;  this  one  was  far  more  pronounced 
than  the  first.  We  looked  at  each  other,  and  pointed 
our  guns  in  the  direction  of  the  noise.  Then  the  men 
gave  a  terrific  war-cry  —  and  fired  towards  the  sus- 
pected spot,  and  with  a  rush  made  for  it.  There  was 
no  trace  whatever  of  men  having  been  there. 

"  This  noise  must  have  been  made  by  some  huge 
snake,"  said  Ogoola. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Quabi,  "  it  must  have  been  a  huge 
python,  or  perhaps  some  night  animals/' 

We  put  more  wood  on  the  fires,  then  Oshoria  and 
Ogoola  relieved  the  watch,  and  the  rest  of  us  went  to 
sleep  again.  I  had  not  been  long  asleep  when  I  sud- 
denly jumped  up  —  I  thought  I  had  heard  a  noise  — 
but  the  forest  was  still.  I  had  been  dreaming,  I  sup- 
pose. Oshoria  and  Ogoola  looked  at  me  in  astonish- 
ment and  said :  "  Only  a  big  leaf  fell  on  the  ground, 
Oguizi." 

The  least  noise  awakened  me  in  the  forest.  My 
sleep  was  as  light  as  a  watch-dog's. 

At  dawn  of  day,  after  a  breakfast  of  crocodile 
meat,  we  were  again  on  the  march.  Towards  noon 
we  rested  a  while  to  eat,  after  which  we  continued  our 
march,  and  looked  for  elephants ;  but  no  traces  of 
them  could  be  seen.  The  day  was  sultry,  and  I  be- 


KING   MOMBO 

came  very  thirsty,  which  was  seldom  the  case,  for  I  had 
trained  myself  not  to  drink  between  meals.  By  and 
by  we  came  upon  a  little  stream  the  water  of  which 
was  as  clear  as  crystal.  I  plucked  a  big  leaf,  which  I 
rolled  up  into  a  cornucopia,  filled  with  the  cool  water, 
and  took  a  big  drink.  Rising,  I  saw  what  I  had  not 
noticed  before  —  a  number  of  human  footprints.  My 
men  were  behind  and  I  waited  for  them.  When  they 
came  in  sight  I  bade  them  come  towards  me.  The 
fellows'  feet  seemed  to  glide  over  the  ground  —  I  could 
not  hear  their  footsteps.  I  pointed  out  the  footprints 
to  them.  Their  looks  betrayed  their  feelings.  They 
thought  evidently  that  there  were  people  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. Oshoria  said  :  "  It  is  strange  that  we  should 
see  the  footprints  of  men  here." 

We  continued  our  march  until  it  was  near  sunset. 
Then  Oshoria  stopped  and  said :  "  Let  us  stop  here 
for  the  night,  for  the  light  in  the  forest  is  getting  less 
bright,  and  warns  us  that  it  will  be  dark  soon." 

The  crocodile  meat  was  getting  somewhat  tainted. 
We  had  got  to  the  last  piece.  Henceforth  we  should 
have  to  rely  upon  berries,  nuts,  and  fruits.  After  our 
meal  the  men  filled  their  pipes  and  seated  themselves 
by  the  fire.  "  To-morrow,"  said  Oshoria,  "  we  must 
be  most  careful.  Our  eyes  must  look  everywhere, 
and  our  ears  must  be  listening.  Sometimes  men  lie 


"I  pointed  out  the  footprints  to  them" 


KING   MOMBO 

in  wait  in  the  trees  along  the  path,  and  you  are  only 
aware  of  their  presence  when  they  throw  a  spear  or  a 
poisoned  arrow,  fire  a  gun  at  you,  or  capture  you ; 
then  it  is  too  late  to  look  out." 

In  the  morning  we  started  without  breakfast. 
"Further  on,"  said  Oshoria,  "we  shall  come  to  the 
koola-trees.  This  is  the  time  of  the  year  when  they 
bear  nuts.  These  are  the  best  nuts  found  in  the  forest 
and  we  shall  have  plenty  of  food.  The  koola  nut 
satisfies  a  man's  hunger  better  than  any  other  berries 
or  nuts.  They  taste  so  good.  A  man  gets  so  much 
strength  after  he  has  eaten  them." 

We  were  getting  more  and  more  hungry  as  the 
hours  passed  away,  and  had  to  drink  water  to  keep 
up  our  strength.  At  last  Ogoola  said  :  "  We  are  near 
the  koola-trees."  He  was  right.  A  little  further  on 
he  pointed  out  to  me  a  grove  of  four  magnificent  koola 
trees.  They  towered  above  the  other  trees  round 
them,  and  as  I  was  looking  at  them  nut  after  nut  fell. 
These  nuts  were  dark,  quite  round,  and  of  the  size  of 
a  walnut. 

The  men  immediately  began  to  break  them  with 
stones.  The  shell  is  very  hard  and  thick.  The  kernel 
is  as  large  as  that  of  a  cherry.  My  dear  hunters,  even 
before  they  ate  a  single  one,  poured  them  upon  my 
lap,  and  said : 

'75 


KING   MOMBO 

<c  Oguizi,  eat,  eat;  you  are  hungry." 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  we  will  eat  together."  They  broke 
the  shells  of  a  lot  of  the  nuts  and  afterwards  we  began 
to  eat  them.  The  kernel  was  whitish  and  as  con- 
densed in  substance  as  the  almond.  After  I  had 
eaten  some  thirty  of  them  I  could  not  eat  one  more. 
We  all  laid  ourselves  flat  on  the  ground  and  took  a 
nap,  for  we  were  exhausted  from  hunger.  When  we 
awoke  we  could  hear  the  nuts  falling  on  the  ground 
—  sometimes  one  by  one,  sometimes  a  lot  together. 
This  delighted  our  hearts,  for  no  man  could  go  up  the 
trees,  they  were  so  tall  and  their  trunks  were  so  big. 

That  day  we  collected  all  the  nuts  that  fell  on  the 
ground  and  made  our  supper  of  them.  After  our 
meal  we  seated  ourselves  in  the  centre  of  our  fires; 
then  the  men  filled  their  pipes.  Ogoola,  who  had  been 
the  first  to  see  the  koola  trees,  said  :  "  Oguizi,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  koola  trees  we  hunters  would  often  die  of 
hunger  in  the  forest.  Aniembie  [the  good  spirit] 
made  them  grow  for  us.  Men  cannot  subsist  on 
berries  and  fruits  ;  not  only  are  they  not  strengthen- 
ing—  though  they  prevent  a  man  from  starving  —  but 
if  you  eat  too  much  of  them  you  are  sure  to  be  ill 
with  dysentery.  We  are  never  ill  from  eating  koola 


nuts." 


I  found  afterwards  that  thirty  nuts  were  enough  for 

176 


KING   MOMBO 

one  meal  and  would  keep  a  man  vigorous  from  morn- 
ing until  evening. 

"  The  koola  trees/1  continued  Ogoola,  "  are  some- 
times found  like  those  in  this  place,  three  or  four 
together,  but  oftener  they  are  single.  They  are  easily 
recognized,  for  they  are  among  the  big  trees  of  the 
forest.  We  generally  make  our  paths  pass  by  where 
they  are,  for  it  is  hard  to  carry  food  enough  for  a  long 
journey,  —  the  plantain  gets  ripe  so  soon  and  the 
bunches  are  so  heavy,  and  the  igouma  is  also  very 
heavy.  During  the  season  of  the  koola  nuts,  we 
carry  very  little  food  with  us.  Our  greatest  enemies 
at  that  time  are  the  boars,  for  they  like  the  nuts  as 
well  as  we  do,  and  feed  much  upon  them.  Then  they 
become  very  fat  however,  and  are  delicious  to  eat. 
The  gorillas  and  other  c  men  of  the  woods '  are  also 
very  fond  of  koola  nuts." 

Then  the  men  added  a  lot  of  wood  to  the  fires  and 
we  went  to  sleep.  Nothing  happened  during  the 
night  to  disturb  us,  and  the  next  morning  we  collected 
the  nuts  that  had  fallen  during  the  night,  cracked  them, 
and  started  again  for  the  elephant  hunting-ground. 


12 


'77 


CHAPTER  XXV 

LOST  IN  THE  FOREST— A  HERD  OF  ELEPHANTS  LURES 
ME  ON—  SEPARATED  FROM  MY  HUNTERS  —  TWO 
NIGHTS  ON  THE  GROUND  AND  ONE  IN  A  TREE — 
FOUND  AT  LAST  — JOY  OF  THE  MEN. 

WE  had  not  left  our  encampment  two  hours 
when  we  fell  in  with  a  great  number  of  ele- 
phant tracks.  These  seemed  to  show  that  the  ele- 
phants had  been  there  during  the  night.  Further  on 
the  tracks  became  so  numerous  that  we  thought  sev- 
eral herds  must  have  followed  each  other,  for  the 
jungle  was  trodden  down  in  every  direction.  We  held 
a  council.  The  men  said  that  the  elephants  were  not 
very  far  away,  and  agreed  to  leave  the  path  and  hunt 
the  huge  beasts,  meeting  in  the  evening  in  the  spot 
where  we  then  stood.  We  made  marks  on  the  trees, 
and  cut  a  number  of  boughs  and  broke  others,  in  order 
that  we  might  recognize  the  place. 

Oshoria  and  I  were  to  hunt  together.  Quabi, 
Ogoola,  and  Ngola  made  up  the  other  party.  We 
left  the  path  and  got  into  thick  forest.  I  had  never 
seen  so  many  elephant  tracks  before.  There  must 
have  been  at  least  one  hundred  elephants  together. 

178 


KING    MOMBO 

After  two  hours*  walk,  we  heard  the  tramping  of 
the  elephants  ahead  of  us.  They  were  breaking  the 
branches  of  trees  and  feeding  upon  the  leaves.  Soon 
after  we  heard  them  trumpeting.  I  looked  at  "  Bull- 
dog,'' Oshoria  looked  at  his  gun  also,  and  we  marched 
carefully  in  the  direction  of  the  elephants.  I  got  a 
glimpse  of  several,  and  went  towards  them.  Just  as  I 
was  on  the  point  of  taking  aim,  the  elephants  fled, 
breaking  and  treading  down  the  saplings  that  were  in 
their  way.  I  followed  the  track  they  had  left  behind 
them,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  them  again.  Ere  long  I 
spied  a  bull  elephant,  and  seven  cows.  These  fled 
also.  I  chased  them  but  was  not  able  to  overtake 
them. 

Without  my  being  aware  of  it,  time  had  passed 
more  quickly  than  I  thought.  It  was  getting  late, 
and  I  retraced  my  steps  towards  the  place  where  we 
had  agreed  to  meet.  I  had  lost  sight  of  Oshoria. 
After  a  while  I  found  I  did  not  recognize  some  of  the 
trees  I  had  especially  noticed,  and  did  not  see  the 
marks  we  had  made  when  following  the  elephants, 
I  began  to  suspect  that  I  was  walking  in  a  wrong 
direction.  I  had  not  met  two  ebony  trees  which  had 
particularly  attracted  my  attention  on  account  of  their 
size.  Surely  1  had  gone  the  wrong  way.  I  shouted 
after  Oshoria,  but  received  no  answer  back. 

179 


KING    MOMBO 

Finally  I  came  to  a  path  which  I  thought  was  the 
one  upon  which  we  had  agreed  to  meet,  but  I  could 
not  tell  whether  I  was  beyond  or  lower  down  than 
our  place  of  meeting.  I  walked  on  for  a  while  to  see  if 
I  could  recognize  some  of  the  trees,  but  I  could  not. 

I  seated  myself  on  the  trunk  of  a  tree  that  had  fallen 
across  the  path  and  waited  for  Oshoria  and  the  other 
men.  I  had  hardly  seated  myself  when  the  bloody 
head  of  a  monkey  with  its  eyes  plucked  out  fell  within 
a  yard  in  front  of  me,  and  I  knew  that  a  guanionien, 
the  largest  eagle  of  the  forest,  was  devouring  his  prey, 
perched  on  a  giant  tree,  though  the  foliage  was  so  thick 
that  I  could  not  see  the  bird,  called  by  the  natives 
the  leopard  of  the  air.  Then  I  tried  to  call  to  mind 
how  it  had  happened  that  I  had  lost  Oshoria,  and  I 
remembered  that  we  had  not  before  seen  the  fallen 
tree  upon  which  I  was  seated.  This  made  me  believe 
that  I  was  further  on.  I  waited  but  Oshoria  did  not 
come.  Then  I  thought  that  perhaps  he  was  waiting 
for  me  still  further  ahead,  and  decided  to  go  on  myself. 
I  broke  a  few  branches  on  each  side  of  the  path  and 
made  marks  on  the  bark  of  the  trees  with  my  hunting 
knife.  I  put  a  big  handful  of  leaves  on  the  tree  upon 
which  I  had  been  seated,  and  I  laid  parallel  with  the 
path  three  sticks,  with  sharp  points  at  one  end,  indicat- 
ing the  direction  I  was  to  take.  Thus  Oshoria  would 

180 


KING    MOMBO 

be  sure  to  know  where  I  had  gone  when  he  passed  the 
place. 

I  walked  slowly.  Time  passed  ;  but  no  Oshoria 
came,  and  night  was  near.  To  add  to  my  difficulties,  I 
came  to  a  place  where  the  path  forked  into  three  dis- 
tinct branches.  I  determined  to  go  no  further  that 
day,  but  to  camp  for  the  night  at  the  junction  of 
these  paths. 

I  shouted  with  all  my  might  after  Oshoria  and  the 
rest  of  my  hunters,  but  only  the  echo  of  my  voice 
came  back.  I  fired  a  gun,  but  the  same  silence 
continued. 

Fortunately  I  had  some  koola  nuts  with  me,  but 
before  eating  them,  as  it  was  getting  late,  I  collected 
a  lot  of  dead  branches,  of  which  the  forest  is  full,  and 
made  four  separate  piles  of  wood  for  fires,  —  when 
lo  !  I  remembered  that  Oshoria  had  my  steel  and  flint. 
I  had  lent  them  to  him  to  light  his  pipe  before  we 
started  in  the  morning,  and  he  had  forgotten  to 
return  them  to  me ;  and  I  had  left  my  matches  at 
Regundo's. 

I  took  two  pieces  of  very  dry  wood,  a  large  and 
a  small  one,  and  after  rubbing  them  rapidly  and  vig- 
orously together  I  succeeded  in  getting  a  little  fire,  to 
which  I  added  some  dried  fungus,  and  soon  my  four 
fires  were  in  full  blaze.  I  slept  surrounded  by  them, 

181 


KING    MOMBO 

During  the  night  a  dead  branch  fell  with  a  great 
crash  and  awoke  me.  I  put  more  wood  on  the  fires 
to  keep  away  the  wild  beasts,  and  went  to  sleep 
again. 

When  I  awoke  in  the  morning  I  thought  of 
Oshoria  and  of  my  hunters  and  said  to  myself: 
"  Surely  we  shall  find  one  another  to-day." 

Taking  from  my  bag  twenty  koola  nuts,  I  ate 
them  for  breakfast ;  I  counted  the  others,  and  found 
that  I  had  enough  for  a  day  and  a  half,  that  is,  for 
three  meals. 

When  I  was  ready  to  start,  I  chose  the  centre  path 
out  of  the  three  branching  ones,  cut  tree-limbs  on  each 
side,  then  again  sharpened  three  sticks  at  one  end  and 
laid  them  parallel  with  the  path,  the  sharp  end  de- 
signed to  show  the  direction  I  had  taken.  I  shouted 
now  and  then  with  the  whole  strength  of  my  lungs, 
"  Oshoria,  Oshoria,"  but  the  forest  remained  silent. 
Then  I  gave  the  peculiar  native  cry  of  "  Whoo, 
whoo,  whoo — a,"  which  reaches  very  far,  but  no  answer 
came  back.  I  fired  "  Bulldog,"  but  only  its  echo 
returned  to  me. 

I  kept  on  walking  slowly,  and  towards  noon  I  took 
a  meal  of  koola  nuts,  but  ate  only  ten  of  them. 
While  I  was  eating,  "  Bulldog"  lay  at  my  side.  I 
looked  at  the  dear  old  rifle,  and  said  to  it :  "  c  Bulldog/ 

182 


KING    MOMBO 

you  are  the  only  friend  I  have  now :  I  think  a  great 
deal  of  you,  and  I  love  you.  Do  not  fail  me  in  time 
of  danger  or  hunger." 

Then,  taking  the  precious  rifle  on  my  shoulders,  I 
continued  my  way.  After  a  while,  I  heard  a  rustling 
in  the  jungle,  and  looking  in  that  direction,  a  strange 
sight  met  my  eyes.  I  saw  a  bald-headed  ape,  the 
nshiego  mbouve,  with  a  baby.  The  mother  had 
a  very  black  face,  while  the  face  of  the  baby  was  so 
white  that  the  little  fellow  looked  quite  human.  The 
mother  was  seated  on  the  ground  eating  some  fruit 
and  giving  some  to  the  little  nshiego  mbouve,  that  was 
looking  in  her  face,  seated  between  her  legs.  I  hid 
behind  a  tree  and  watched  the  two. 

Then  the  little  fellow  lay  on  his  back  and  his 
mother  cleaned  his  skin  with  her  nails,  taking  off 
dandruff,  or  killing  little  insects.  Once  or  twice  the 
baby  nshiego  mbouve  said,  "  Woe,  woe,"  and  after- 
wards clung  to  his  mother's  breast.  Then  he  climbed 
to  her  shoulders,  the  mother  uttering  low,  guttural 
sounds  of  happiness  or  contentment. 

How  human  they  both  looked  !  The  little  fel- 
low's face  was  so  pale  that  one  might  have  thought 
he  had  just  recovered  from  a  long  illness.  But  it 
was  his  natural  color.  Suddenly  the  big  nshiego 
mbouve  gave  a  shrill,  piercing  cry  and  with  her  baby 

183 


KING    MOMBO 

holding  on  to  her  ran  away  into  the  thick  of  the 
forest.  She  had  evidently  seen  me. 

I  continued  my  way.  I  do  not  know  why,  but  the 
forest  seemed  to  me  more  silent  than  before.  I  be- 
gan to  feel  very  anxious  at  the  non-appearance  of 
Oshoria  and  my  hunters.  "  Paul,"  I  said,  fc  are  you 
going  to  be  lost  in  this  great  forest,  and  die  of  star- 
vation or  illness  ?  Your  ammunition  cannot  last 
forever,  and  the  fever  may  come  at  any  time  and 
you  may  be  so  feeble  afterwards  that  you  cannot 
help  yourself.  Then  it  will  be  all  over  with  you." 

The  day  went  by.  The  path  still  led  on  —  and 
no  answer  had  come  to  my  cries  of  "  Whoe  —  whoe  — 
whoe —  a."  The  dim  light  of  the  forest  told  me  that 
the  day  was  coming  to  its  close  and  that  it  was  about 
time  to  make  my  camp.  I  stopped  beside  a  little 
stream  of  clear  water.  I  thought  of  Oshoria,  of  Ngola, 
Quabi,  and  Ogoola.  I  wondered  if  they  also  were 
lost  and  making  their  camp,  and  whether  they  were 
separated  or  together.  I  looked  for  two  pieces  of 
dry  wood,  and  lighted  four  fires,  as  the  day  be- 
fore, in  the  midst  of  which  I  lay  down.  I  was  very 
tired,  for  "  Bulldog  "  was  very  heavy.  I  was  soon 
lulled  to  sleep  by  the  murmur  of  the  little  rivulet 
winding  its  way  to  some  bigger  one.  I  dreamt  of 
home,  of  friends,  of  corn-bread,  of  turkey,  of  roast 


KING    MOMBO 

beef.  When  I  awoke  it  was  broad  daylight  —  and 
only  the  embers  of  the  fires  remained.  It  was  fortu- 
nate that  no  leopards  had  been  round  during  the 
night,  this  unusual  sleep  had  done  me  good. 

I  ate  the  last  of  my  koola  nuts,  and  before  starting 
for  the  day  I  made  the  same  kind  of  marks  I  had  made 
each  morning,  so  that  my  men  could  know  the  direc- 
tion I  had  taken.  I  hoped  I  should  find  some 
koola  trees,  for  I  was  hungry.  I  had  not  left  the 
camp  ten  minutes  before  I  came  to  two  koola  trees 
under  which  the  path  passed.  There  were  but  few 
nuts  on  the  ground,  as  the  wild  boars  had  been  there 
but  a  short  time  before,  judging  from  the  freshness  of 
their  tracks. 

I  collected  what  nuts  there  were.  I  was  sure  not 
to  starve  on  that  day.  "  Providence,"  I  exclaimed, 
"  thou  art  kind  to  me.  Thou  hast  always  been  kind 
to  me." 

After  a  hearty  meal  of  nuts  I  continued  on  my  way. 
The  path  seemed  endless  and  was  very  crooked. 
Many  a  time  I  shouted  "  Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola, 
Quabi,"  but  got  no  answer.  Taking  courage,  I  said : 
"  This  path  must  come  to  an  end  or  reach  some 
inhabited  place."  I  only  fired  "Bulldog"  once  that 
day,  for  I  had  become  chary  of  my  ammunition. 
Again  the  day  passed  without  sight  of  any  of  my 

'85 


KING    MOMBO 

hunters.  The  country  I  traversed  was  in  many  places 
very  marshy,  which  made  me  believe  that  a  river  was 
not  far  off.  Before  dark  I  built  my  camp.  I  then 
tried  to  make  a  fire  with  two  pieces  of  wood.  I 
rubbed  them  against  each  other ;  the  little  piece  dug 
quite  a  hole  in  the  big  one,  but  no  smoke  came  ; 
either  it  was  not  the  right  sort  of  wood,  or  it  was  too 
damp.  I  took  some  other  wood  but  succeeded  no 
better.  Night  was  fast  coming  on.  Then  I  said  to  my- 
self: "  I  cannot  sleep  on  the  ground  in  the  dark,  for  if 
a  leopard  passes  by  he  is  sure  to  spring  on  me  and 
devour  me.  Even  if  I  climb  a  tree  and  rest  in  the 
midst  of  its  branches,  he  is  sure  to  climb  also  if  he 
scents  me."  The  leopards  are  great  tree-climbers.  The 
only  way  for  me  was  to  ascend  a  tall  and  very  slim 
tree  that  no  leopard  could  climb  on  account  of  the 
small  size  of  its  trunk.  Looking  ahead  in  the  path  I 
saw  three  very  slender  trees  close  together.  Their 
branches  intertwined  with  each  other,  after  a  certain 
height.  I  saw  that  from  the  first  tree  I  could  reach 
the  second  by  creeping  on  one  of  its  branches,  and 
would  be  able  to  reach  the  third  tree,  that  was  the 
highest,  in  the  same  manner.  I  spied  a  branch  about 
thirty  feet  from  the  ground,  upon  which  I  could  rest 
for  the  night.  There  the  prowling  leopards  could  not 
reach  me.  I  cut  a  slender  creeper  for  a  strap  with 

186 


KING    MOMBO 

which  to  fasten  "  Bulldog  "  on  my  back  when  I  as- 
cended the  trees  ;  then  unloaded  the  dear  rifle,  to  guard 
against  accident.  I  climbed  the  first  tree,  took  hold  of 
one  of  its  branches  and  lifted  myself  up ;  but  not 
without  great  trouble,  for  "  Bulldog  "  was  much  in 
the  way.  I  succeeded,  however,  in  reaching  the 
second  tree  ;  I  was  then  about  fifteen  feet  above  the 
ground.  To  reach  the  third  tree  from  the  second 
one  was  a  very  hazardous  undertaking,  and  I  ran 
great  risk  of  tumbling  down  and  breaking  my  neck, 
for  the  branch  that  was  to  help  me  to  cross  over 
was  very  slender ;  and  I  had  some  doubt  if  it  would 
carry  me  safely.  At  first  I  thought  I  would  drop 
"  Bulldog  "  down,  but  I  said  upon  reflection,  "  Paul, 
whatever  you  do,  do  not  let  your  rifle  be  separated  from 
you ;  an  elephant  might  come  and  get  hold  of  it  with 
his  trunk  and  break  it ;  some  leopard  or  other  wild 
beast  might  beset  you." 

With  some  hesitation  I  crept  upon  the  transverse 
limb  —  but  finally  succeeded  in  reaching  the  third 
tree.  Then  I  took  a  long  breath  and  rested  a  while, 
after  which  I  ascended  still  higher  until  I  reached  a 
height  of  about  thirty  feet,  where  I  found  a  branch 
upon  which  I  could  rest  for  the  night.  There  the 
prowling  leopard  could  not  reach  me.  A  slender 
liane  hung  from  a  tree  above  my  head,  looking 

187 


KING    MOMBO 

exactly  like  a  snake,  and  I  cut  off  about  eight  feet  of 
it,  and  using  it  as  a  rope,  made  it  fast  round  my 
waist  and  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  so  that,  in  case  I 
fell  asleep,  I  should  not  fall  to  the  ground.  I  should 
have  to  remain  on  the  tree  eleven  hours,  for  daylight 
would  not  come  before  that  time.  Soon  darkness 
set  in. 

In  the  silence  of  the  night  I  could  hear  the  slightest 
noise.  Two  or  three  times  I  thought  I  heard  little  night 
animals  walking  on  the  dead  leaves  in  search  of  prey, 
but  I  could  not  see  two  feet  ahead  of  me,  it  was  so 
dark.  Once  I  thought  I  saw  through  the  darkness 
the  shining  eyes  of  a  leopard.  I  thought  he  was 
looking  at  me.  The  cold  perspiration  dropped  from 
my  forehead  at  the  idea,  but  I  was  mistaken.  The 
eyes  were  two  big  fireflies. 

Time  seemed  so  long  I  thought  the  night  would 
never  come  to  an  end.  At  last  I  heard  the  cack- 
ling of  the  guinea  fowl,  the  forerunner  of  morning, 
and  dawn  came  at  last !  I  came  down  the  same 
way  I  had  ascended.  After  reaching  the  ground  I 
stretched  my  legs,  for  they  were  very  stiff,  then  ate 
some  koola  nuts.  I  did  not  like  them  any  more; 
I  had  "gouamba,"  or  hunger  for  meat.  I  shouted 
with  all  my  might, "  Oshoria,  Ngola,  Ogoola,  Quabi." 
No  answer.  Then  I  fired  "  Bulldog,"  and  lo !  in 

iSS 


I 


some  hesitation  I  crept  upon  the  transverse  limb" 


KING    MOMBO 

less  than  two  minutes  I  heard  what  I  thought  to  be 
the  detonation  of  a  gun,  far,  far  off.  It  was  cer- 
tainly not  the  echo  of  "  Bulldog."  A  thrill  of  joy 
ran  through  me.  It  was  an  answer  from  one  of 
my  hunters.  But  I  did  not  dare  to  trust  my  ears. 
Perhaps  I  was  mistaken.  To  make  sure,  I  loaded 
two  cartridges  with  twice  the  usual  amount  of  pow- 
der, and  then  fired.  The  charge  was  so  heavy  that  it 
almost  threw  me  over.  Soon  after  I  heard  two  guns. 
There  was  no  mistake  this  time.  These  were  an- 
swers to  mine. 

I  followed  the  path  in  the  direction  where  I  thought 
the  sound  came  from.  After  a  while  I  fired  another 
shot ;  then  I  heard  another  in  answer.  This  time  it 
was  much  nearer.  Forward  I  went,  and  after  a  little 
while  I  fired  again.  The  firing  of  another  gun  re- 
sponded to  mine,  and  this  time  the  detonation  was 
quite  near.  I  shouted,  "Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola, 
Quabi,"  and  heard  the  shouts  of  "  Oguizi,  Oguizi," 
in  answer.  A  short  time  after  I  saw  in  the  path 
Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Quabi,  and  Ngola.  They  were  all 
there.  In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  we  were  in  each 
other's  embrace,  after  which  the  men  shouted :  "  We 
are  men  !  we  are  men  !  "  Then  Oshoria  seated  him- 
self on  the  ground,  took  his  idol  from  his  bag,  mut- 
tered words  I  could  not  understand,  and  said, cc  Oguizi, 

189 


KING    MOMBO 

the  idol  told  me  this  morning  that  we  should  meet 
you  to-day/* 

Soon  after  a  big  blazing  fire  was  burning,  and  a 
great  quantity  of  wood  was  piled  upon  it,  and  when 
it  was  reduced  to  charcoal,  three  men  put  some  large 
pieces  of  boar  upon  the  embers.  They  had  killed 
the  animal  while  searching  for  me.  The  smell  of 
the  roasted  boar  was  delicious  to  me,  for  I  had 
"  gouamba  "  badly. 

Oshoria  was  the  salt  carrier.  Salt  was  very  precious 
to  us,  and  it  made  the  boar's  meat  taste  so  good. 
After  our  meal  I  recounted  to  them  how  I  had  lost 
Oshoria,  and  what  had  happened  to  me. 

Then  came  the  turn  of  Oshoria,  who  said  :  C(  The 
elephants  are  the  cause  of  the  Oguizi  and  me  becoming 
separated.  I  followed  that  day  the  track  which  I  thought 
the  Oguizi  had  taken,  but  it  was  the  wrong  one. 
The  second  day  I  saw  in  one  place  the  marks  of  the 
Oguizi's  shoes,  but  when  the  ground  became  hard  I 
lost  them.  The  second  day  in  the  morning  I  came 
to  the  place  where  we  had  agreed  to  meet.  There  I 
found  Ngola,  Ogoola,  and  Quabi  waiting  for  us. 
They  asked  me  :  '  Where  is  the  Oguizi  ?  '  I  replied  : 
c  He  is  gone,  he  has  disappeared/  We  followed  the 
path,  and  saw  the  marks  you  had  left  to  guide  us. 
How  glad  we  were  this  morning  when  we  heard 

190 


KING    MOMBO 

f  Bulldog  '  talk.  Then  our  guns  talked  to  c  Bulldog/ 
Our  hearts  were  filled  with  joy,  for  we  thought  we 
should  never  see  the  Oguizi  any  more/' 

Then  they  all  cried  :  "  Here  we  are  once  more  with 
the  good  Oguizi !  " 

Oshoria  said :  "  Oguizi,  we  thought  you  had 
changed  shape,  and  left  us.  Then  we  said :  £  The 
good  Oguizi  would  not  leave  us  without  saying  good- 
by,  for  he  told  us  that  he  loved  us/  ' 

"  You  are  right,  my  hunters,"  I  replied,  "  the  Oguizi 
would  not  go  away  without  saying  good-by  to  you, 
for  you  are  his  friends,  and  he  loves  you." 

At  my  words  they  came  forward  closer  to  me  and 
all  looked  in  my  face,  with  great  wonder.  I  wished  I 
could  know  what  their  thoughts  were. 

"  Oguizi,"  said  Oshoria,  cc  though  I  have  hunted 
many  dry  and  rainy  seasons  in  the  forest,  I  have  never 
seen  so  many  elephant  tracks  before.  The  animals 
must  have  been  driven  here  by  being  too  much 
hunted  further  inland,  or  by  the  bashikouay  ants. 
To-morrow  the  path  will  end  in  a  beautiful  prairie, 
and  there  we  shall  meet,  I  think,  many  elephants." 

We  were  so  tired  that  we  determined  to  remain 
where  we  were  for  the  rest  of  the  day,  as  there  was  a 
clear  rivulet  of  water  close  by.  We  had  some  boar's 
meat  for  supper,  and  after  our  meal,  my  hunters  lay 

191 


KING   MOMBO 

flat  on  their  backs  upon  the  ground,  and  held  the  soles 
of  their  feet  within  a  few  inches  of  the  fire.  The  sole 
of  the  foot  often  becomes  very  sore  from  walking  upon 
pebbles,  or  upon  the  roots  of  trees,  and  that  was  the 
way  the  natives  cured  the  soreness  of  their  feet.  Before 
we  knew  it  we  were  all  fast  asleep. 


192 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

/• / 

THE  ELEPHANT  HUNTING-GROUND  —  THE  BEAUTIFUL 
PRAIRIE  SKIRTING  THE  FOREST— THE  WELCOME 
SKY  AND  SUN  AND  STARS  AFTER  THE  FOREST 
GLOOM  —  HUNTING  ELEPHANTS  BY  MOONLIGHT  — 
THREE  LARGE  HERDS  — NARROW  ESCAPE  OF  OSHORIA 
AND  MYSELF— DEATH  OF  THE  HUGE  TUSKER. 

WE  took  up  our  march  again  at  dawn,  walking  at 
a  very  quick  pace,  for  we  were  all  anxious  to 
reach  the  prairie.  After  travelling  about  eight  miles  I 
noticed  that  the  light  in  the  forest  was  getting  brighter. 
This  was  the  sure  indication  that  we  were  coming  to 
an  open  space.  A  moment  after,  we  came  out  on  a 
lovely  prairie,  which,  after  the  dark  forest,  looked  the 
more  beautiful.  It  was  so  pleasant  to  see  again  the 
blue  sky,  the  white  floating  clouds,  and  the  sun,  to  feel 
the  wind  blowing  in  our  faces,  —  for  the  forest  is  all 
the  time  as  quiet  as  if  wind  did  not  exist.  "  To-night," 
I  thought,  "  how  happy  I  shall  be,  for  I  shall  see  the 
stars  and  the  moon." 

The  waving  grass  looked  very  lovely  to  me,  for  I 
was  tired  of  seeing  nothing  but  trees  day  after  day, 
month  after  month,  and  the  world  had  never  appeared 
'3  193 


KING    MOMBO 

more  beautiful  than  it  did  that  morning.  Perhaps 
also  it  was  because  I  had  found  my  friends  again. 

I  stood  still  for  a  while,  gazing  at  the  sky,  and  said  : 
"  Sunshine  makes  the  heart  of  man  happy.  I  do  not 
wonder  that  in  ancient  times  men  worshipped  the  sun, 
for  it  is  the  source  of  all  life  upon  earth.  Without 
sun  no  vegetation  or  life  would  exist." 

Along  the  borders  of  the  forest  were  groups  of 
plantain  trees,  some  standing  not  far  from  us. 

"  The  elephants  are,  as  we  know,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood," said  Oshoria.  "  They  will  surely  come  here  to 
eat  the  young  leaves  of  the  plantain  trees  and  their  fruit. 
We  could  not  be  here  at  a  better  time,  for  the  moon  is  on 
the  wane  and  we  shall  be  able  to  see  the  elephants  well 
and  at  the  same  time  the  moon  will  not  be  too  bright. 
Let  us  build  our  camp  on  the  border  of  the  forest." 

To  this  we  all  agreed,  and  the  rest  of  the  day  we 
were  busy  collecting  material  for  our  camp.  After- 
wards we  cleaned  our  guns,  and  swore  that  we  would 
not  return  to  the  plantation  before  killing  an  elephant 
or  two.  That  night  we  slept  soundly,  for  we  needed 
rest.  In  the  morning  I  left  my  men  in  the  camp,  as 
I  loved  to  hunt  alone.  I  walked  along  the  border  of 
the  forest,  thus  having  all  the  way  a  good  sight  of  the 
prairie,  while  at  the  same  time  I  was  hidden  by  the 

trees. 

194 


KING    MOMBO 

I  had  walked  hardly  two  hours  before  I  thought  I 
heard  the  booming  tramp  of  elephants,,  I  lay  down 
upon  the  ground,  my  right  ear  to  the  earth  in  order  to 
make  sure  that  I  was  not  mistaken.  I  heard  nothing, 
however,  and  thought  I  must  have  been  mistaken. 
But,  continuing  my  way,  I  suddenly  heard  a  great 
racket  in  the  forest.  Elephants  were  breaking  branches 
of  trees.  I  looked  at  "  Bulldog  "  ;  it  was  all  right.  I 
advanced  cautiously  in  the  direction  of  the  noise,  and 
soon  saw  under  the  trees  bordering  the  prairie  five 
elephants,  —  a  bull  and  four  cows.  I  crawled  towards 
them  like  a  snake.  I  drew  nearer  and  nearer.  Now 
and  then  I  would  raise  my  head  above  the  grass  to 
get  a  look  at  the  elephants.  The  bull  was  a  huge 
creature  and  seemed  to  be  over  ten  feet  in  height,  — 
the  cows  from  nine  to  nine  feet  and  a  half.  Finally  I 
hid  behind  a  tree,  for  I  wanted  to  watch  the  noble  ani- 
mals at  my  ease.  I  noticed  the  big  tusks  of  the  bull 
and  thought  of  his  charging  a  man  and  impaling  him 
upon  them. 

The  animals  were  feeding  upon  the  fruit  growing 
upon  a  cluster  of  trees.  One  was  shaking  a  tree  with 
its  trunk  entwined  round  the  slender  stem.  Another 
was  butting  its  head  against  a  tree,  and  after  a  lot 
of  the  fruit  had  fallen  they  picked  it  up,  uttering 
occasionally  a  gentle  trumpeting  of  contentment. 


KING    MOMBO 

I  was  so  intensely  interested  in  watching  them,  that 
I  forgot  that  I  had  "  Bulldog  "  with  me.  All  at  once 
the  bull  trumpeted  loudly  and  they  all  fled,  plunging 
headlong  into  the  forest.  I  immediately  returned  to  the 
camp  and  told  of  the  news.  We  held  a  council,  and 
it  was  agreed  that  we  should  set  out  on  an  elephant 
hunt  that  night. 

We  took  a  survey  of  the  surrounding  country  and 
saw  that  the  forest  advanced  here  and  there  into  the 
prairie  just  as  the  land  does  into  the  sea,  and  formed 
in  a  number  of  places  what  might  be  called  capes. 
These  capes  were  splendid  places  from  which  to  watch 
for  elephants.  We  waited  impatiently  for  the  night 
and  lighted  no  fire  that  day.  We  agreed  to  divide 
into  two  parties,  Oshoria  and  I  going  to  the  nearest 
cape  on  our  right,  which  was  near  a  fine  field  of  plan- 
tain trees.  Ogoola,  Quabi,  and  Ngola  were  to  go  to 
another  cape  on  our  left,  from  which  they  could  also 
have  a  good  view  of  the  surrounding  country.  They 
could  see  far  towards  the  north,  we  towards  the  south. 

When  evening  came  we  bade  each  other  good-night 
and  started  for  our  respective  places.  When  I  looked 
back  I  saw  the  dark  forms  of  Ogoola,  Quabi,  and 
Ngola  moving  away  from  us.  We  reached  our  place 
and  hid  under  a  tall  tree,  the  branches  of  which  ex- 
tended over  the  grass.  We  were  at  the  extreme  end 

196 


KING    MOMBO 

of  the  point,  near  a  big  field  of  plantain  trees,  a  great 
many  of  these  bearing  fruit  not  yet  full  grown.  The 
stars  were  shining  brightly  in  the  blue  sky  and  multi- 
tudes of  fireflies  were  moving  above  the  grass,  almost 
illuminating  the  prairie. 

By  the  brighter  light  above  the  trees  we  knew  that 
the  moon  had  risen.  After  a  while  it  appeared  just 
above  the  forest,  and  gradually  rose  higher  and  higher 
and  shed  its  tempered  light  over  the  country. 

Soon  life  began  to  show  itself —  I  saw  a  few  ante- 
lopes emerging  from  the  forest.  They  were  fine  ani- 
mals, with  long  spiral  horns,  but  we  let  them  alone, 
for  we  were  after  larger  game.  On  the  other  side  of 
the  prairie  we  saw  a  large  herd  of  buffaloes  —  I  counted 
thirty-seven  of  them.  Their  bulls  are  very  dangerous 
animals  ;  they  charge  furiously,  and  only  a  very  power- 
ful gun  can  be  effective  with  a  shot  in  front,  on  account 
of  the  formation  of  their  horns.  I  always  took  very 
careful  aim  when  shooting  them  —  they  were  among 
the  animals  I  dreaded  most.  They  hide  during  the 
day  in  the  forest,  and  come  out  at  night.  But  we  left 
the  buffaloes  also  alone. 

How  impressive  was  the  night  on  the  prairie.  We 
could  hear  once  in  a  while  the  cry  of  the  owl,  and  see 
flying  squirrels  above  our  heads.  The  sky  and  the 
dear  twinkling  stars  were  looking  down  upon  us. 

197 


KING    MOMBO 

The  time  seemed  very  long,  as  it  always  does  when 
one  is  kept  waiting.  Three  hours  passed  away.  No 
elephants  had  come  in  sight.  I  scanned  the  prairie 
carefully  as  far  as  my  eye  could  reach.  Suddenly  my 
attention  was  drawn,  in  the  far  distance,  towards  a  big 
black  spot  in  the  grass  which  I  took  to  be  a  cluster 
of  shrubs,  but  wondered  that  I  had  not  noticed  it 
before.  I  watched  the  black  spot,  for  I  was  not  sure 
that  it  was  formed  by  young  trees.  Soon  I  saw  it  mov- 
ing slowly  and  advancing  towards  our  side  of  the  prairie. 
I  thought  they  were  elephants,  but  they  might  also  have 
been  hippopotami,  for  there  might  have  been  a  river 
in  the  neighborhood.  The  animals  were  so  far  away 
I  could  not  distinguish  them. 

I  looked  for  Oshoria,  but  he  was  not  in  sight. 
Where  had  he  gone? 

The  black  mass  kept  moving  slowly,  and  I  watched 
it  intently.  After  a  while,  I  made  out  certainly  that 
it  was  a  herd  of  elephants.  Later  I  distinguished  a 
huge  bull  which  was  leading  them.  I  counted  twenty- 
three  elephants.  Looking  again  for  Oshoria,  I  saw 
him  standing  close  to  me,  also  watching  the  elephants. 
He  made  a  sign  for  me  to  follow  him,  which  I  did. 
Then  he  pointed  out  to  me  a  big,  moving  black  mass. 
It  was  another  herd,  but  much  larger  than  the  one  I 
had  discovered.  They  were  walking  slowly  in  the 

198 


L7  distinguished  a  huge  bull  which  was  leading  them 


KING    MOMBO 

direction  of  Quabi,  Ngola,  and  Ogoola.  I  could  see 
the  herd  sidewise.  The  elephants  were  led  by  a  huge 
bull,  which  looked  larger  than  any  of  the  others.  I 
made  out  forty-three  elephants.  As  they  stood  still, 
their  bodies  slowly  rocked  and  swayed  to  and  fro.  Once 
in  a  while  their  big  ears  pricked  up.  Their  trunks 
were  in  motion,  curling  and  uncurling  themselves. 
Their  tails  with  the  long,  coarse,  black  hair  beat  their 
flanks.  Now  and  then  the  cows  squealed,  and  their 
squeals  were  followed  by  the  violent  trumpeting  of 
the  bulls,  which  sounded  strange  in  the  midst  of  the 
silence  of  the  night. 

Suddenly  the  herd  stopped,  and  the  bull  uttered  a 
piercing  trumpeting.  Did  he  scent  danger  ?  Was 
he  aware  of  our  presence  ?  What  was  the  cause  of  the 
sudden  halt  ?  These  were  questions  I  asked  myself. 
After  a  while  I  heard  another  trumpeting,  unlike  the 
first  one  we  heard.  Then  a  general  trumpeting  of  all 
the  herd  filled  the  prairie  with  its  sound.  This  was  re- 
sponded to  by  a  loud,  angry  trumpeting  from  the  bull 
of  the  other  herd.  Were  these  two  bulls  to  fight  for 
the  mastery  of  the  two  herds  ?  A  fight  between  two 
such  monsters  would  be  fine  to  look  at.  "  If  the  bulls 
fight,"  I  whispered  very  low  to  Oshoria,  "we  must 
look  on  and  not  fire  at  them." 

I  had  hardly  uttered  these  words  when  a  big  cloud 

199 


KING    MOMBO 

hid  the  moon,  and  the  herd  of  elephants  could  not  be 
seen.  When  the  cloud  had  passed  over,  we  saw  the 
elephants  moving  slowly. 

Just  then  I  was  startled  by  a  great  crash  of  trees  in 
our  rear.  Elephants  were  in  the  forest  and  were 
going  out  on  to  the  prairie.  The  noise  they  made  as 
they  tramped  in  the  jungle  came  nearer  and  nearer ; 
the  huge  creatures  were  evidently  coming  our  way. 
Oshoria  came  close  to  me  and  took  me  to  a  very  large 
tree,  so  as  to  be  protected  by  its  size,  which  would 
prevent  us  from  being  trampled  upon  by  the  elephants. 
Suddenly  the  elephants  stopped,  the  bull  uttered  a 
sharp  and  shrill  trumpeting.  The  bulls  of  the  two 
other  herds  answered  also  with  trumpetings  of  defiance. 
There  was  to  be  a  great  battle.  For  one  reason  or 
another  the  elephants  in  the  forest  changed  their 
course  and  entered  the  prairie  on  our  right.  I  counted 
seventeen  of  them  ;  they  were  walking  in  single  file,  led 
by  the  bull,  which  after  a  while  stopped ;  the  herd  then 
came  together  into  a  group.  The  bull  uttered  another 
loud  trumpeting,  which  was  answered  by  the  trumpeting 
of  the  other  two  bulls.  Not  a  buffalo  was  in  sight;  at 
the  appearance  of  the  elephants  they  had  moved  away. 

It  was  a  fine  sight  to  see  these  three  herds  walking 
slowly  in  the  prairie,  with  the  dim  light  of  the  moon  shin- 
ing upon  them.  They  were  the  very  emblem  of  strength 


200 


KING    MOMBO 

among  the  animals  of  the  earth.  The  herd  that  had 
been  in  our  rear  was  the  first  to  enter  a  plantain  field. 
Soon  after  we  heard  them  breaking  the  plantain  trees, 
while  the  animals  now  and  then  gave  forth  low  trum- 
petings  of  satisfaction. 

We  left  our  hiding-place  and  crept  towards  the 
plantain  trees.  Oshoria  looked  at  his  guns,  —  I 
looked  at  mine.  The  cartridges  were  in  place.  Soon 
we  were  in  the  midst  of  the  scattered  elephants.  I 
had  hardly  seen  them  when  I  thought  I  heard  the 
trampling  of  one  of  the  two  other  herds  coming 
in  our  direction.  If  that  was  the  case,  we  should 
be  in  great  danger,  for  we  should  find  ourselves 
between  the  two  herds.  If  they  met,  it  was  probable 
that  the  two  bulls  would  fight.  "  Who  knows,"  I 
said  to  myself,  "  perhaps  the  third  herd  is  coming  here 
also.  Then  there  may  ensue  a  grand  battle  among 
the  bulls  for  the  mastery  of  the  herds,  —  and  the  cow 
elephants  may  run  in  every  direction." 

There  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  if  we  did  not  wish  to 
have  elephants  all  around  us ;  either  we  must  kill  one 
of  those  in  sight,  or  fire  a  gun  to  scare  them.  In 
either  case  there  was  danger. 

I  noticed  that  the  bull  and  cow  elephants  were  rest- 
less,—  they  evidently  thought  the  two  other  herds 
were  coming  towards  them. 

201 


KING   MOMBO 

Oshoria,  who  was  within  a  few  feet  from  me,  was  in 
a  better  position  to  shoot,  for  I  had  a  number  of  plan- 
tain trees  in  my  way.  I  could  not  get  a  good  aim. 

The  gun  of  Oshoria  rose  slowly,  —  then  I  saw  a  flash 
and  heard  a  terrific  detonation,  and,  to  my  consternation, 
the  bull  charged  in  my  direction.  He  had  had  a  glimpse 
of  me.  He  was  coming  at  full  speed,  while  the  crash 
made  by  the  frightened  and  fleeing  elephants  added  to 
the  confusion. 

In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  I  took  three  steps  back- 
ward, and  was  protected  by  the  burned  trunk  of  a  tree. 
I  was  just  in  time.  The  infuriated  animal  passed  close 
by  me.  As  he  did  so,  I  fired  behind  his  right  shoul- 
der, but  he  did  not  fall,  and  went  on  into  the  forest 
followed  by  the  cow  elephants.  I  was  sure  "  Bull- 
dog "  had  hit  the  huge  beast,  and  Oshoria  was  much 
surprised  that  the  elephant  had  not  fallen  dead.  He 
eyed  "  Bulldog,"  as  if  to  say :  "  I  do  not  understand 
why  you  did  not  kill  the  elephant  outright.'* 

In  the  meantime,  the  detonation  of  our  guns  had 
scared  the  two  other  herds ;  we  heard  them  tearing 
down  everything  in  the  forest  that  opposed  their  flight. 
This  was  a  narrow  escape  of  mine ;  but  for  the  tree  I 
should  have  been  trampled  upon  or  impaled,  —  so 
quick  was  the  charging  of  the  bull.  Then  the  advice 
of  Regundo  came  into  my  mind,  that  a  hunter  should 

202 


KING    MOMBO 

never  lose  his  head  before  sudden  danger.  I  was 
covered  with  perspiration,  and  my  heart  beat  quickly 
from  the  excitement. 

We  returned  to  the  camp,  and  Ngola,  Ogoola,  and 
Quabi  came  back  at  dawn,  reporting  that  they  had  been 
watching  the  two  herds  of  elephants,  and  fully  expected 
to  kill  one,  but  the  firing  of  our  guns  had  blighted  their 
hopes. 

After  breakfast,  Oshoria  and  I  went  in  search  of 
the  bull  we  had  shot,  for  we  were  sure  he  was  wounded. 
We  came  to  the  track  the  elephant  had  left  behind 
him,  and  after  a  short  time,  not  five  hundred  yards 
from  the  place  where  we  had  shot  him,  Oshoria  gave 
a  cluck  to  draw  my  attention,  and  pointed  ahead.  I 
looked  and  saw  a  huge  bull  elephant  lying  on  the 
ground  upon  his  stomach,  with  his  head  downward, 
but  facing  us.  Our  coming  seemed  to  rouse  him. 
He  raised  his  head  and  looked  at  us.  He  evidently 
recognized  in  us  his  enemies  of  the  night,  who  had 
inflicted  his  deadly  wound,  —  and  before  we  had  even 
time  to  think,  and  while  I  was  pitying  the  poor  beast, 
he  rose  and  charged  us  at  furious  speed.  We  had 
just  time  to  get  out  of  his  way.  He  dashed  past  us 
and  fell  down,  exhausted  by  his  efforts.  He  wanted 
revenge  before  dying.  Oshoria  fired  at  the  elephant 
and  shouted  to  me  to  fire,  for  he  was  not  sure  that  he 

203 


KING    MOMBO 

would  not  rise  again.  The  magnificent  beast  was  dead 
when  we  came  near.  He  was  over  ten  feet  in  height, 
and  had  very  large  tusks.  We  found  that  he  had  been 
wounded.  His  charge  had  been  so  unexpected 
that  I  wondered  that  one  of  us  had  not  been  killed. 
This  was  the  narrowest  escape  I  ever  had  with 
elephants. 

I  looked  at  the  huge  bull.  His  thick  hide  was 
covered  with  scars,  —  most  of  them  healed,  but  two  or 
three  new.  All  bore  witness  to  the  numerous 
fights  he  had  had  with  other  bulls  for  the  mastery 
of  the  herd.  He  had  had  to  assert  his  supremacy  by 
constant  fighting,  and  had  he  not  been  killed  by  us, 
the  day  was  sure  to  come,  as  he  grew  old,  when  he 
would  at  last  find  a  bull  stronger  than  he  was. 

At  the  sound  of  our  guns  Ogoola,  Ngola,  and 
Quabi  left  their  camp  and  soon  came  up.  Oshoria 
and  I  were  seated  on  the  huge  beast  when  they 
appeared.  Oshoria  shouted  to  them  :  "  We  are 
men  !  We  are  men  !  "  and  they  responded  :  "  You 
are  men  !  You  are  men  indeed  !  " 

Quabi  went  after  an  axe  and  the  big  hunting- 
knives.  The  first  thing  we  did  on  his  return  was  to 
take  off  the  fine  tusks  from  the  elephant's  head.  It 
was  hard  work,  for  they  were  embedded  in  the  skull 
for  nearly  three  feet.  One  tusk  weighed  ninety- seven, 

204 


KING    MOMBO 

the  other  ninety-one  pounds.  The  tusks  are  never  of 
the  same  weight.  Then  we  brought  a  great  deal  of 
the  meat  to  the  camp,  for  we  had  nothing  to  eat,  and 
the  men  took  two  large  pieces  into  the  forest  for 
Mombo  and  Olombo. 


205 


CHAPTER   XXVII 

THE  KILLING  OF  A  SECOND  ELEPHANT—  HOW  BULL  ELE- 
PHANTS FIGHT  —  THE  CONTEST  FOR  THE  LEADER- 
SHIP OF  THE  HERD  — OSHORIA's  GRAPHIC  ACCOUNT 
OF  A  BATTLE  ROYAL  WITNESSED  BY  HIM— RETURN 
TO  THE  PLANTATION. 

OUABI  and  Ngola  went  to  reconnoitre  during 
the  day,  and  came  back  with  the  news  that 
further  down  the  prairie  there  was  a  little  lake,  the 
shores  of  which  were  entirely  covered  with  elephants' 
tracks,  and  that  the  forest  near  there  showed  that 
elephants  had  been  in  that  region  during  the  night. 

We  all  went  to  sleep,  so  that  we  might  be  in  good 
trim  for  the  coming  night.  When  we  awoke,  the  sun 
had  disappeared  in  the  west  behind  the  trees  of  the 
forest.  We  cut  some  of  the  meat  of  the  bull  ele- 
phant we  had  killed  into  thin  slices,  and  roasted  these 
on  charcoal.  The  meat  was  very  tough,  but  fortun- 
ately I  had  good  teeth  and  a  splendid  digestion. 

The  eating  of  coarse  food  is  very  healthful  and  helped 
me  to  lay  in  a  good  store  of  health  for  future  years ; 
and  to  this  day  I  have  never  suffered  from  a  single 
attack  of  dyspepsia.  During  my  explorations,  I  only 

206 


KING    MOMBO 

drank  the  delicious  water  of  the  springs,  or  crystal- 
like  rivulets  of  the  forest. 

After  our  supper  we  left  for  the  little  lake  of  which 
Quabi  and  Ngola  had  told  us.  Night  overtook  us  on 
our  way.  We  skirted  the  border  of  the  forest,  so  as 
to  be  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees  and  so  as  not  to  be 
discovered  by  elephants  or  other  animals.  The  grass 
was  not  more  than  a  foot  and  a  half  in  height,  and 
it  was  pleasant  to  walk  freely  without  meeting  fallen 
trees,  or  stepping  upon  roots,  and  without  bending 
over,  jumping,  or  climbing,  and  it  was  pleasant,  too, 
to  have  for  companions  the  lovely  stars  twinkling 
above  our  heads. 

After  walking  about  six  miles  we  came  in  sight  of 
a  little  lake  nestled  in  the  midst  of  undulating  hills. 
We  concluded  not  to  remain  by  the  lake,  but  to  hide 
under  the  trees  near  by.  There  we  waited  for  the 
rising  of  the  moon  with  the  expectation  of  seeing 
elephants  again.  Towards  eleven  o'clock  the  moon 
rose,  and  as  it  was  on  the  wane  it  was  not  as  light  as 
the  preceding  night. 

We  waited  and  waited,  but  no  elephants  came,  and 
it  got  to  be  nearly  four  o'clock.  We  were  on  the 
point  of  giving  up  the  hope  of  seeing  any  when  we 
discerned  the  black  form  of  one  walking  toward  the 
lake.  We  looked  all  round  to  discover  if  there  were 

207 


KING   MOMBO 

any  herd  in  sight,  but  there  was  none.  The  one  before 
us  was  evidently  a  bull  that  had  been  driven  away 
from  a  herd  by  a  stronger  bull  and  was  wandering 
solitary.  Then  I  said :  "  Ogoola,  Quabi,  and  Ngola, 
upon  you  will  devolve  the  task  of  killing  this  elephant, 
as  Oshoria  and  I  have  killed  one.  Prove  that  you 
are  great  hunters." 

Oshoria,  with  an  imploring  look  said  to  me : 
"  May  I  not  go  also  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  replied.  cc  Three  men  even  are  too 
many,  for  the  grass  is  so  short ;  besides,  we  must  give 
them  a  chance  to  say,  on  their  return,  that  they  killed 
an  elephant  when  they  were  hunting  with  the  Oguizi. 
We  will  watch  them." 

"You  are  right,  Oguizi,"  replied  Oshoria. 

I  was  always  right  with  these  dear  fellows. 

The  three  hunters  started.  They  bent  over  so 
low  that  their  heads  and  shoulders  only  appeared 
above  the  grass ;  they  were  going  directly  towards 
the  lone  elephant.  At  times  they  would  lie  flat  on 
the  ground  and  disappear  entirely  from  sight,  then 
reappear  again.  The  wind  was  in  their  favor,  for  it 
blew  from  the  elephant  towards  them,  so  the  huge 
beast  could  not  scent  danger.  Fortunately  also,  they 
and  he  were  going  in  the  same  direction,  towards  the 
lake.  I  whispered  to  Oshoria :  "  I  am  glad  that  the 

208 


KING   MOMBO 

men  will  be  in  such  a  position  that  when  they  shoot 
the  elephant,  he  will  not  be  able  to  see  them  and 
charge." 

For  before  saying  this  it  had  suddenly  come  across 
my  mind  that  the  elephant  might  suddenly  turn  and 
follow  them  and  that  it  would  have  perhaps  been 
better  if  we  had  shared  the  danger  with  them,  for 
nothing  can  be  more  dangerous  than  to  face  an  ele- 
phant in  an  open  space,  and  give  him  a  straight  shot. 
It  requires  then  a  very  cool  head,  and  a  very  quick 
eye  to  move  just  in  time  to  avoid  the  charge  of  the 
huge  creature. 

The  three  men  approached  nearer  and  nearer,  for 
the  elephant  had  stopped  several  times,  evidently  to 
find  out  if  there  were  any  cows  near  that  loved  him 
better  than  the  bull  that  had  driven  him  away  from 
the  herd.  At  last  the  men  came  within  gunshot. 
The  elephant  stood  still,  looking  at  the  water  of  the 
lake.  He  was  evidently  thinking  of  taking  a  bath. 
Two  of  the  hunters  were  on  his  left  side,  the  other 
on  his  right.  We  watched  them  with  breathless 
attention.  All  at  once  we  saw  them  stand  up,  —  then 
three  flashes,  followed  by  the  detonations  of  their  guns. 
Then  we  saw  the  huge  beast  falter  and  fall.  We  ran 
towards  our  three  friends  as  fast  as  our  legs  could 
carry  us,  and  when  we  came  near  them  the  three  were 
J4  209 


KING   MOMBO 

seated  on  the  body  of  the  elephant.  They  shouted 
to  us  :  "  We  are  men  !  We  are  men  !  "  And  we 
shouted  back  to  them  :  "  You  are  men  !  You  are 
men  !  "  Then  we  all  shouted  together  :  "  We  are 
men ! " 

The  elephant  was  a  bull,  but  not  so  large  as  the 
one  killed  the  night  before.  We  had  our  axes  with 
us  and  after  some  hard  blows  succeeded  in  getting  out 
the  two  small  tusks.  We  took  no  meat  with  us,  for 
we  had  all  we  wanted.  When  we  returned  to  our 
camp  it  was  broad  daylight,  and  we  turned  in  and 
slept  almost  the  whole  day. 

That  evening,  as  we  were  seated  silently  round  a 
huge  fire,  Oshoria  suddenly  said  :  "  Oguizi,  it  is  a 
great  sight  to  see  two  bull  elephants  fight  together  for 
the  mastery  of  the  herd.  The  solitary  one  has 
generally  been  driven  away  from  another  herd  by  a 
stronger  bull,  and  wanders  in  the  forest  all  alone  until 
he  sees  another  herd  ;  then  he  tries  his  luck  again  with 
the  ruling  bull.  Twice  in  my  life  I  have  seen  such 
a  fight/' 

"  Tell  me  all  about  it,"  I  said. 

"  I  will,"  he  replied,  and  after  a  pause  he  began  : 
"  One  evening  at  dusk,  not  far  from  where  we  stand, 
I  saw  a  big  herd  of  elephants  emerging  from  the  forest. 
They  walked  slowly  and  silently  in  the  middle  of  the 


2IO 


KING    MOMBO 

prairie  on  their  way  towards  the  lake.  They  stopped 
twice,  squealed  and  trumpeted,  and  then  continued 
their  march.  Suddenly  the  bull  stopped  again,  and 
the  cow  elephants  came  near  him. 

"  At  the  same  time  I  saw  emerging  from  the  forest 
on  the  opposite  side  a  huge  bull  elephant.  He  was 
alone,  and  no  herd  followed  him.  The  bull  which 
had  a  herd  trumpeted  fiercely,  as  they  do  when  they 
are  angry  and  want  to  fight.  The  solitary  bull  an- 
swered in  the  same  way,  signifying  that  he  also  was 
ready  to  fight.  The  cows  gave  forth  piercing  squeals, 
and  remained  by  themselves. 

"  Then  the  two  bulls  ran  towards  each  other.  It  was 
fine  to  see  them.  The  solitary  bull  had  evidently  not 
forgotten  his  previous  ignominious  defeat,  and  wanted 
to  avenge  himself,  hoping  to  be  the  victor  this  time 
and  have  a  herd  of  his  own.  They  squealed  and 
trumpeted  in  the  fiercest  manner  as  they  approached 
each  other.  I  could  see  that  the  cow  elephants  were 
very  uneasy,  for  they  rocked  and  swayed  quickly  to 
and  fro,  their  trunks  also  waving  rapidly. 

"As  the  two  bulls  neared  each  other  their  speed 
increased.  Then  I  heard  a  thumping,  booming  sound, 
like  two  big  trees  knocking  against  each  other.  Their 
heads  had  met  with  terrific  force.  For  a  while  they 
pushed  each  other,  neither  of  them  moving  backward 


2TI 


KING    MOMBO 

or  forward,  but  at  last  the  solitary  bull  retreated  slowly, 
facing  his  enemy.  He  proved  the  weaker.  The 
victorious  elephant  stood  his  ground  looking  at  his 
enemy,  who  halted  after  a  while,  and  stood  still.  They 
looked  at  each  other  steadily,  then  each  uttered  a  long 
trumpeting  of  defiance. 

<c  The  cows  remained  at  the  same  place  all  the  time, 
waiting  for  the  victor  to  come  to  them.  Then  the  two 
bull  elephants  charged  again.  The  leader  of  the  herd 
by  a  clever  movement  succeeded  in  grazing  the  body 
of  his  antagonist,  inflicting  a  fearful  gash  with  his 
right  tusk  all  along  his  side.  The  great  object  of 
the  bull  elephant  in  fighting  is  to  exhaust  his  rival 
and  pierce  his  side  with  his  tusks.  Elephants  when 
they  charge  cannot  stop  suddenly  and  turn  back, 
the  momentum  occasioned  by  their  weight  being  too 
great  to  allow  them  to  do  so. 

"  Once  more  the  two  bulls  looked  at  each  other.  The 
wounded  elephant  did  not  want  to  give  up  the  fight 
before  another  trial  of  strength.  He  felt  that  this  was 
his  last  chance.  They  came  towards  each  other  at  a 
furious  rate.  The  two  heads  met  with  tremendous 
force,  and  a  sound  like  the  sudden  rolling  of  thunder 
far  away  in  the  forest.  A  man  caught  between  those 
two  heads  would  have  been  mashed  as  flat  as  the 
hide  of  an  antelope.  The  solitary  bull  was  stunned 

212 


"  The  two  enormous  tusks  went  through  his  side  " 


KING    MOMBO 

by  the  blow.  He  staggered  an  instant,  and  it  was  all 
over  with  him.  He  had  not  the  strength  to  flee  for  his 
life,  and  at  that  moment  the  other  charged  him  on  the 
flank.  The  two  enormous  tusks  went  through  his  side, 
and  he  fell  dead.  The  tusks  had  penetrated  nearly 
three  feet  into  the  body.  The  victor  returned  to  his 
herd,  which  received  him  with  loud  trumpetings  of  joy. 

"  Often,"  concluded  Oshoria,  "  one  finds  big  tusks 
of  ivory  in  the  forest.  These  come  from  elephants 
killed  in  like  manner.  Some  also  come  from  elephants 
who  have  died  of  old  age  or  of  their  wounds  some 
time  subsequent  to  such  a  fight  as  this  one." 

We  remained  three  more  days  on  the  prairie ;  but 
no  more  elephants  were  to  be  seen.  They  had  all 
evidently  left  that  part  of  the  country.  So  we  deter- 
mined to  return  to  the  plantation,  with  our  four  tusks. 
When  we  came  to  Crocodile  Lake  we  found  our 
canoes ;  we  were  glad  to  continue  our  journey  by 
water,  for  not  only  had  we  the  tusks  to  carry,  but  also 
plenty  of  smoked  elephant  meat. 

When  we  reached  King  Regundo's  plantation  we 
were  received  with  great  demonstrations  of  joy  by 
Regundo,  his  wife,  and  all  the  slaves.  They  ex- 
claimed :  "  Will  not  our  master's  heart  be  glad  when 
he  sees  these  large  tusks,  for  he  will  get  many  goods 
when  he  barters  for  them." 

213 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 

DEPARTURE  FROM  THE  SLAVES*  PLANTATIONS  —ARRIVAL 
AT  KING  MOMBO'S  —  A  WARM  GREETING  FROM  THE 
OLD  KING  — HIS  SACRED  PROMISE  NEVER  TO  PART 
WITH  HIS  SLAVES  —  FAREWELL  TO  HIM  AND  HIS 
PEOPLE. 

THE  evening  of  our  arrival,  all  my  hunters  and 
their  wives,  and  all  the  slaves  on  the  plantations 
came  to  spend  the  evening  with  me.  Regundo, 
Oshoria,  Ngola,  Ogoola,  and  Quabi  stood  beside  me. 
Before  us  on  the  ground  were  the  four  tusks  of  the 
elephants  we  had  killed,  and  their  two  tails. 

There  was  great  excitement  among  the  people  ;  they 
had  remarked  this  time  also  that  after  my  departure 
the  clock  had  stopped  ;  and  were  persuaded  more  than 
ever  that  the  noise  of  its  tick  was  made  by  spirits  in- 
side ;  that  these  had  left  to  follow  me,  but  that  now 
I  had  returned  they  also  had  come  back  to  dwell 
therein  again.  The  same  had  happened  before,  when  I 
had  gone  with  my  hunters  to  shoot  nginas.  No 
one  during  my  absence  had  dared  to  come  near  the 
clock.  They  were  even  afraid  to  go  under  the 
veranda  of  the  house.  All  my  goods  I  found  where 

I  had  left  them. 

214 


KING    MOMBO 

In  the  midst  of  deep  silence  my  hunters  recounted 
all  that  had  taken  place  since  we  had  left  the  plantation. 
They  omitted  nothing,  and  the  dear  slaves  thought  they 
were  the  greatest  men  that  had  ever  existed,  for  they 
had  travelled  with  the  Oguizi.  It  was  very  late  when 
they  all  bade  me  good-night  and  left.  After  they  were 
gone,  and  I  had  retired,  I  heard  the  voice  of  Re- 
gundo  thanking  the  spirits  of  his  forefathers  that 
every  one  had  come  back  safely ;  and  he  told  them 
also  how  happy  he  was  to  see  the  Oguizi  once  more. 

After  a  few  days'  hunting  and  shooting  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  plantation,  seeing  only  birds  and 
animals  that  I  found  before,  I  considered  it  time  to 
leave  the  place,  and  one  day  I  said  to  Regundo  and 
to  my  faithful  hunters  that  I  must  return  to  King 
Mombo. 

I  began  to  pack  the  birds  and  animals  I  had  stuffed, 
also  the  butterflies  and  insects  I  had  collected.  The 
news  spread  fast  among  the  people  that  I  was  getting 
ready  to  go  away.  Preparations  were  immediately 
made  for  my  departure.  A  great  quantity  of  food 
was  prepared  for  King  Mombo. 

That  evening,  every  man,  woman,  and  child  had 
gathered  round  my  little  house.  Regundo,  Oshoria, 
Ngola,  Ogoola,  and  Quabi  were  seated  as  close  to  me 
as  they  could  get.  All  were  silent,  and  sadness  was 

2I5 


KING    MOMBO 

on  their  faces.  They  knew  that  the  Oguizi  was  going 
away,  and  that  they  would  never  see  him  again. 
They  loved  me  and  I  loved  them  in  return.  We 
love  those  who  love  us ;  and  if  one  has  friends,  he  is 
sure  to  be  friendly  himself.  Above  all,  we  love  those 
who  are  kind  to  us. 

I  broke  the  painful  silence,  and  said  aloud :  "  Re- 
gundo  and  Oshoria,  Ngola,  Quabi,  Ogoola,  and  you 
men,  women,  and  children  that  are  round  me  to-night, 
you  have  all  been  kind  to  me.  I  love  you  all." 

At  these  words  they  all  shouted  with  one  voice: 
"  Oguizi,  we  love  you  !  We  love  you  !  " 

Then  came  again  another  pause,  and  I  said :  "  We 
have  all  had  a  good  time  together.  You  have  taken 
great  care  of  me.  I  have  been  very  happy  when  with 
you.  The  best  you  had  you  have  given  to  me.  No 
man  has  trapped  or  killed  game  that  he  has  not 
brought  to  me  first.  I  would  have  a  bad  heart  if  I 
did  not  love  you,  but  the  Oguizi  must  soon  leave  you, 
for  he  must  go  and  see  other  countries.  I  will  tell 
Mombo  how  good  you  have  been  to  me,  and  that 
you  are  all  my  friends,  and  I  will  make  him  promise 
me,  and  take  as  his  witnesses  the  spirits  of  his  an- 
cestors, that  he  will  let  you  die  on  his  plantations, 
and  never  sell  you,  or  give  you  away  as  payment  for 
wives,  for  indemnity,  or  in  exchange  for  canoes  or 

216 


KING    MOMBO 

anything  else."  They  listened  to  my  words  in  breath- 
less silence,  and  then  with  one  voice  cried,  "  Thank 
you,  Oguizi.  You  are  a  good  Oguizi." 

After  they  had  become  quiet  again,  I  continued  : 
"  To-morrow  I  shall  leave  you  and  go  back  to  King 
Mombo,"  at  which  my  hunters,  Regundo,  and  others 
shouted  ;  "  We  are  going  with  you." 

"  After  I  have  left  you,"  I  continued,  "  I  want  you 
to  remember  the  Oguizi,  for  I  shall  never  forget  you, 
and  when  I  go  back  to  the  country  of  the  Oguizis 
I  will  tell  them  what  friends  we  were,  how  we  hunted 
together,  and  how  we  spent  many  evenings  round  the 
bright  fires." 

When  I  spoke  these  words  one  could  have  heard 
a  leaf  fall  on  the  ground.  Then  an  old  slave  got  up 
and  said  :  "  Oguizi,  stay  with  us  a  little  longer."  And 
my  hunters,  looking  tenderly  at  me  added :  "  We  will 
go  again  with  you  into  the  great  forest  and  hunt  ele- 
phants and  nginas,  and  other  wild  beasts."  But  I 
replied  :  "  I  have  to  go  far,  far  away  towards  the  coun- 
try where  the  sun  rises,  before  I  return  to  the  land  of 
the  Oguizis,  who  are  waiting  for  me  to  hear  the  news 
about  what  I  have  seen  in  the  great  forest." 

Then  another  slave  arose  and  said :  "  Oguizi,  give 
to  each  of  us  some  of  your  hair ;  we  will  keep  it  to 
remember  you  by,  and  show  it  to  strangers  to  prove 

217 


KING    MOMBO 

that  you  have  been  amongst  us.  Otherwise  they  will 
not  believe  us ;  but  when  they  see  the  hair  they  will 
know  that  they  have  never  seen  the  like." 

These  words  were  greeted  with  a  great  shout  of 
approbation.  I  began  to  pull  my  hair  out  one  hair  at 
a  time  ;  I  gave  to  each  man  one  hair.  My  hair  had 
grown  very  long  and  hung  on  my  shoulders.  I  could 
not  have  given  a  greater  present  to  these  people.  No 
brass  kettle  even  had  the  same  value  in  their  eyes. 
To  Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola,  and  Quabi, 
who  had  been  my  constant  companions,  I  gave  three 
hairs  each. 

After  this,  I  distributed  among  the  women  all  the 
beads  I  had.  To  Regundo' s  wife  and  to  each  of  the 
wives  of  my  hunters  I  gave  a  small  looking-glass. 
Then  they  all  went  to  their  quarters,  saying :  "  Good 
night,  good  Oguizi." 

Early  the  next  morning  every  one  was  on  the  river 
bank  to  bid  good-by  to  me,  the  women  bringing 
presents  of  mats  and  food.  Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ngola, 
Quabi,  and  Ogoola  were  in  my  canoe,  with  the  ele- 
phant tusks  and  tails.  After  I  was  in  the  canoe  I 
stood  up  and  held  C£  Omemba  "  in  my  right  hand,  so 
that  all  the  people  could  see  the  stick  of  King  Mombo. 

I  gave  the  order  for  departure  and  immediately  my 
hunters  fired  their  guns,  while  ashore  other  men  fired 

218 


KING    MOMBO 

also,  and  others  beat  the  tomtoms.  The  noise  was 
deafening  as  gun  after  gun  was  fired. 

The  last  words  I  heard  after  the  guns  ceased  fir- 
ing and  the  tomtoms  were  still,  were :  "  Good-by, 
Oguizi,  come  back  to  us."  Three  canoes  loaded  with 
bunches  of  plantains,  manioc,  and  all  kinds  of  food 
for  King  Mombo  followed  us.  The  little  American 
flag  which  I  always  carried  with  me  floated  proudly 
on  the  breeze  at  the  stern  of  my  canoe,  and  displayed 
its  stars  and  stripes.  Wherever  I  went  I  took  the 
precious  flag  with  me. 

My  hunters  were  in  a  high  glee,  for  they  knew  that 
the  heart  of  King  Mombo  their  master  would  be  glad 
when  he  saw  the  big  elephant-tusks,  and  Oshoria 
said :  "  I  think  King  Mombo  will  be  able  to  buy  six 
slaves  with  the  goods  he  will  get  for  the  four  tusks, 
and  marry  several  women  also." 

Ngola  suggested  that  possibly  Mombo  might 
barter  the  tusks  for  guns,  so  that  he  could  arm  his 
people  and  be  more  powerful  in  case  of  war. 

Then  came  a  pause  and  all  shouted :  "  We  are  men, 
we  are  men ;  the  great  Oguizi  is  our  friend."  They 
fired  their  guns  and  the  tomtoms  beat  louder  than 
ever.  The  paddling  was  renewed  with  more  vigor 
than  before.  At  last  King  Mombo's  village  came  in 
sight.  The  men  sang  louder  than  ever  as  we  neared 

219 


KING    MOMBO 

the  place.  The  tomtoms  beat.  Regundo  and 
Oshoria  stood  up  and  began  to  gesticulate  in  the 
wildest  possible  manner.  My  other  hunters  followed 
their  example  and  all  sang  :  "  We  come  back  with  the 
Oguizi.  Great,  indeed,  is  King  Mombo,"  and  repeated 
the  same  thing  over  and  over  again. 

The  men  paddled  with  such  force  that  two-thirds  of 
our  canoe  was  out  of  the  water  when  we  landed,  the 
men  shouting  again  as  they  stepped  ashore :  "  We  are 
men,  we  are  men." 

I  landed,  holding  "  Omemba  "  in  my  right  hand. 

King  Mombo  was  on  the  shore  to  receive  me,  beat- 
ing his  kendo  and  calling  on  the  spirits  of  his  ances- 
tors to  come  and  see  the  sight.  Mombo  wore  a 
waistcoat  and  a  coat,  but  had  no  shirt  or  trousers. 
We  embraced  each  other  amid  the  shouts  of  his 
people,  who  had  also  come  to  welcome  me  back. 
Many  tomtoms  were  beating  violently  in  the  village, 
and  guns  were  fired  to  celebrate  my  return.  The 
people  were  wild  with  excitement. 

King  Mombo  led  me  to  the  big  building  where  the 
people  were  accustomed  to  meet,  and  bade  me  take  a 
seat  by  his  side.  We  were  surrounded  by  a  great 
crowd.  Then  Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ngola,  Ogoola, 
and  Quabi  came  forward  with  the  four  elephant-tusks 
and  laid  them  on  the  ground  at  the  feet  of  King 

220 


f 

KING   MOMBO 

Mombo,  whose  face  beamed  with  pleasure  at  the  sight. 
"  The  two  big  tusks,"  said  Oshoria,  "  are  from  an  ele- 
phant the  Oguizi  and  I  killed.  The  two  others  are 
from  another  elephant  which  Ngola,  Ogoola,  and 
Quabi  killed.  Here  are  the  tails,  they  are  not  yet 
quite  dried." 

Other  slaves  followed  and  laid  before  the  king  two 
boars,  an  antelope,  two  gazelles,  three  monkeys,  and  a 
quantity  of  dried  fish.  The  sight  delighted  the  old 
king,  who  was  fond  of  good  living,  and  disliked  "gou- 
amba." 

"  I  can  see  that  you  love  me,  and  that  you  do  not 
forget  me,  my  slaves/*  said  he,  pointing  to  the  pile  of 
food. 

Then  ensued  a  great  stillness.  King  Mombo  rose 
and  shouted  :  "  Look  at  me,  my  people !  Look  at 
Mombo,  your  chief !  Look  at  the  Oguizi  !  Never 
did  an  Oguizi  visit  our  forefathers."  To  which  the 
people  shouted  in  return :  "  Great  indeed  is  King 
Mombo." 

Then  Regundo  recounted  in  a  loud  voice,  so  that 
everybody  could  hear,  how  I  arrived  at  the  planta- 
tion, how  I  showed  him  King  Mombo's  stick  and  all 
that  had  happened  during  the  time  1  was  with  them. 
The  King  congratulated  Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola,  and 
Quabi  on  their  success  in  hunting  elephants.  Turn- 

221 


KING    MOMBO 

ing  to  Regundo,  he  said :  "  You,  my  old  and  faithful 
slave,  I  love  you  and  I  trust  you.  I  am  glad  you 
came  with  the  Oguizi.  In  your  days  you  were  a  great 
elephant  hunter  also.  You  and  I  have  grown  old  to- 
gether." 

Oshoria  next  arose  and  told  of  our  hunting,  and  how 
one  day  I  disappeared  in  the  forest  and  they  did  not 
see  me  for  three  days,  during  which  they  all  believed  I 
had  changed  my  form.  In  the  evening  there  was  a 
great  war  dance,  for  which  the  men  put  on  their  war 
paint.  Several  times  they  formed  a  ring  round  me, 
dancing  and  bending  low  their  bodies  and  singing: 
"  You  are  a  great  Oguizi !  You  are  a  good  Oguizi ! 
You  are  the  friend  of  King  Mombo.  King  Mombo  is 
a  great  king  above  all  other  kings." 

Two  days  after  my  reception  found  me  again  under 
the  big  roof  seated  by  the  side  of  King  Mombo  with  a 
great  crowd  of  people  round  us. 

I  rose  from  my  seat  and  said :  "  King  Mombo, 
soon  I  am  going  to  leave  your  country.  I  return  to 
you  c  Omemba/  It  has  been  of  great  service  to  me. 
I  thank  you  for  it.  King,  you  have  been  good  and 
kind  to  me.  I  love  you.  You  have  given  me  food 
when  I  was  hungry,  water  when  I  was  thirsty,  a  house 
to  rest  and  sleep  in.  All  your  people  have  been  kind 
and  good  to  me." 


222 


KING    MOMBO 

Then  I  called  Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ngola,  Ogoola, 
and  Quabi,  and  bade  them  stand  by  my  side.  I  bade 
the  other  slaves  that  had  come  with  me  come  near  me. 

A  deep  silence  followed,  and  in  a  loud  voice,  so  that 
all  the  people  could  hear,  I  said :  "  King  Mombo, 
the  Oguizi  wants  you  to  make  him  a  solemn  promise, 
and  to  call  on  the  spirits  of  your  forefathers  whom  you 
venerate  and  worship,  to  be  witnesses  of  your  promise. 
Promise  me,  King  Mombo,  that  no  matter  what  hap- 
pens, you  will  never  sell  Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ogoola, 
Ngola,  Quabi,  or  their  wives,  or  any  of  the  other  slaves 
living  on  the  plantations  where  I  have  been.  Prom- 
ise me  that  you  will  let  them  die  where  they  have  their 
home.  These  men  and  women  were  born  free  as  you 
were  and  were  sold  into  slavery,  by  their  parents, 
relations,  or  by  the  people  of  their  tribe  for  one  reason 
or  another." 

Then  I  stopped.  The  tomtoms  began  to  beat  furi- 
ously, the  drummers  singing  war-songs  at  the  same 
time.  Then  came  a  great  silence,  in  the  midst  of 
which  King  Mombo  rose,  and  spoke  in  a  loud  voice 
as  follows :  "  Oguizi,  I  promise  that  I  will  never  sell 
Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola,  or  Quabi,  or  their 
wives,  —  that  I  will  never  sell  the  slaves  that  are  your 
friends  and  are  living  to-day  on  the  plantations  where 
you  have  been/* 

223 


KING   MOMBO 

After  these  words  he  paused,  then  he  called  upon 
the  spirits  of  his  ancestors  to  witness  the  promise  he 
had  just  made  to  me.  He  called  first  on  the  spirit 
of  Olenda,  then  on  that  of  Ratenoo,  then  upon  the 
spirit  of  Ronpano  twice,  of  Sholomba  three  times,  of 
Adooma  four  times.  These  had  been  great  men  and 
had  accomplished  valiant  deeds  in  their  day,  which  had 
been  repeated  to  the  people  generation  after  genera- 
tion. The  spirits  upon  which  he  called  several  times 
had  died  long  ago,  and  Adooma,  upon  whom  he  had 
called  four  times,  was  the  father  of  the  clan  and  had 
died  long,  long  ago.  In  the  great  forest  each  tribe  is 
divided  into  a  number  of  clans,  each  clan  having  its 
chief. 

After  King  Mombo  had  sat  down  a  great  shout 
arose,  and  Regundo,  and  my  hunters,  Oshoria,  Ogoola, 
Ngola,  and  Quabi  fell  at  my  feet  and  clasped  them, 
and  looked  me  in  the  face  without  saying  a  word. 
But  their  eyes  spoke  and  told  me  of  their  gratitude. 
Then  they  prostrated  themselves  before  King  Mombo, 
and  said  to  him  :  "  Master,  we  love  you,  and  we  are 
your  faithful  slaves,"  and  took  hold  of  his  feet. 

I  thanked  King  Mombo  for  his  promise,  and  when 
I  embraced  him  a  great  shout  rose  among  his  people. 
Then  the  tomtoms  beat  violently  and  we  all  separated. 

The   following  evening,   when    it  was   quite   dark, 

224 


"My  hunters   .   .   .  fell  at  my  feet  and  clasped  them  " 


KING    MOMBO 

Regundo,  Oshoria,  Ogoola,  Ngola,  and  Quabi  came 
into  my  hut,  as  I  had  told  them  to  do.  All  the 
people  were  asleep  and  no  one  had  seen  them  come  in. 
I  gave  them  powder  and  presents  for  them  and  their 
wives.  They  implored  me  to  tell  to  no  one  that  I 
had  given  them  presents,  saying  people  might  become 
jealous  and  bewitch  them. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  Regundo,  my  hunters,  and 
all  the  people  who  had  come  with  me  returned  to 
King  Mombo's  plantation.  I  accompanied  them  to 
their  canoe  and  bade  them  a  friendly  farewell. 

After  they  had  gone  I  made  preparations  for  my 
departure.  King  Mombo  was  to  give  me  canoes  and 
men  to  take  me  to  Rotembo,  a  great  chief  living  far 
up  the  Ogobai  river.  When  I  had  bid  farewell  to 
King  Mombo,  he  and  his  people  followed  me  to  the 
bank  of  the  river.  Before  I  embarked  in  my  canoe, 
Mombo  took  hold  of  both  my  hands.  His  mouth  was 
rilled  with  the  ochre  upon  which  the  skull  of  his  an- 
cestor rested,  and  he  blew  it  over  my  hands,  invoking 
at  the  same  time  his  ancestors'  spirits. 

Soon  after  I  was  out  of  sight. 


225 


for  |?0tmg 

By    PAUL    DU    CHAILLU 

THE     WO  RLD    OF 
THE  GREAT  FOREST 

HOW    ANIMALS,    BIRDS,    REPTILES,    IN- 
SECTS,   TALK,   THINK,   WORK,  AND   LIVE 

With  over  Fifty  Illustrations  by  C.  R.  KNIGHT  and  J.  M.  GLEESON 
8vo.     $2.00 


New  York  Evening  Sun 

Another  capital  book  that  will  appeal  especially  to  sound, 
lively  boys.  .  .  .  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  has  the  rare  gift  of  being 
able  to  endow  the  lower  animals  with  very  pleasant  and  inter- 
esting personalities.  And  when  you  have  finished  his  book 
you  feel  that  you  have  added  materially  to  the  list  of  your 
acquaintances. 

Philadelphia  Public  Ledger 

M.  Du  Chaillu,  in  this  delightful  volume,  enters  into  their 
lives  when  concealed  in  dark  recesses  and  impenetrable 
jungles,  and  interprets  to  profane  ears  how  animals,  birds, 
reptiles,  insects,  talk,  think,  work,  and  live.  He  introduces 
us  to  a  strange,  mysterious  world,  and  entertains  us  with  a 
myriad  of  amusing  and  wonderful  stories  of  the  intelligence 
and  dexterity  of  these  tropical  animals  whom  he  knows  so 
intimately. 


iiy  Ptttl  IBtt  CftiTtllu 


LAND  of  the 
LONG   NIGHT 


WITH  24  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 
BY     M.    J.    BURNS.       Square   lamo,   $2.00 


The  Nation. 


The  record  of  a  winter  journey  from  Southern  Sweden  up  through 
Lappmark,  Finland,  and  Finmark  to  Nordkyn,  the  extreme  end  of 
the  European  mainland.  To  say  that  it  will  interest  its  youthful 
readers  from  beginning  to  end  is  well-nigh  superfluous. 

New  York  Tribune. 

Happy  is  the  winter  evening  of  that  young  person  who,  forgetting 
time  and  space  and  the  household  gods  about  him,  goes  forth  into 
strange  countries  with  Paul  Du  Chaillu.  For  that  most  kindly  of 
travellers  has  in  narrative  a  beguiling  simplicity  and  realism  which 
enables  him  to  hold  his  readers  closely  to  the  end. 

New  York  Times  Saturday  Review. 

It  is  a  capital  book  for  boys  or  girls  or  anybody,  and  Mr.  Burns 
has  contributed  a  great  many  excellently  drawn  and  very  telling  illus- 
trations. 

The  Outlook. 

Here  are  information,  stories,  and  incidents  of  adventure  in  Arctic 
regions  strung  together  by  a  personal  narrative  of  travel  —  all  readable, 
unconventional,  entertaining. 

Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

His  narrative  is  engagingly  frank,  full  of  information,  and  with  no 
lack  of  adventure  and  incident.  It  will  prove  a  treasure  to  readers 
young  and  old. 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  Publishers 
J53-157    FIFTH     AVENUE    NEW    YORK 


IStt 


IVAR  THE  VIKING 


A  ROMANTIC  HISTORY,  BASED 
UPON  AUTHENTIC  FACTS  OF  THE 
THIRD  AND  FOURTH  CENTURIES 


I2mo,  $1.50 

Richard  Henry  Stoddard. 

There  is  that  in  Mr.  Paul  Du  Chaillu's  "  Ivar  the  Viking  "  which 
not  only  satisfies  the  lover  of  romantic  adventure,  but  carries  the 
scholar  back  into  the  remotest  period  of  Scandinavian  history.  Beyond 
all  living  writers  this  traveller  in  and  explorer  of  many  countries  has 
collected  the  documents  and  discovered  the  secrets  of  the  Norselands. 

New  York  Times. 

The  reader  who  has  begun  with  a  blank  mind  closes  the  volume 
with  a  tolerably  clear  expression  of  a  very  energetic,  powerful,  and 
wealthy  young  Viking,  capable  of  strong  affection,  foremost  in  games 
and  fights  requiring  physical  force,  and  with  a  vast  number  of  habits 
and  customs.  It  is  a  history  that  interests  through  its  simplicity. 

The  Nation. 

"  Ivar  the  Viking"  is  to  be  thoroughly  recommended.  The  story 
is  characteristically  spirited,  and  the  romantic  part  leaves  nothing  to  be 
desired. 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  Publishers 
J53-J57     FIFTH    AVENUE,    NEW     YORK 


ffiattl  IBu  CftatHu'g  (great 

THE  VIKING  AGE 

THE  EARLY  HISTORY,  MANNERS,  <Sr> 
CUSTOMS  OF  THE  ANCESTORS  OF 
THE  ENGLISH-SPEAKING  NATIONS 


WITH  1400  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  MAP 
2  vols.    8vo.    $7.50 


New  York  Tribune. 

"  These  luxuriously  printed  and  profusely  illustrated  volumes  em- 
body the  fullest  account  of  our  Norse  ancestors  extant.  Mr.  Du 
Chaillu  has  gone  very  fully  and  very  carefully  over  the  whole  of  his 
ground.  This  extensive  and  important  work  must  be  of  high  interest 
to  all  English-speaking  people." 

London  Athenaeum. 

"  What  is  really  valuable  in  these  volumes  is  the  exhaustive  digest 
which  they  contain  of  the  extant  information  respecting  the  manners 
and  character  of  the  ancient  people  of  Scandinavia.  The  work  deals 
with  the  entire  field  of  Scandinavian  archaeology.  In  the  main,  -we 
believe  the  picture  he  has  drawn  fo  the  manner  of  life  of  the  Vikings 
and  their  countrymen  to  be  as  accurate  as  it  is  undoubtedly  full  of 
interest." 

Edinburgh  Review. 

"  The  subject  of  M.  Du  Chaillu's  work  is  vast  in  extent  and  full  of 
perplexing  difficulties.  We  have  shown  that  its  author  has  collected 
a  store  of  valuable  information,  a  great  part  of  which  has  hitherto  been 
inaccessible  to  English  readers.  His  enthusiasm  will  have  a  very  use- 
ful effect  if  it  leads  the  people  of  this  country  to  study  and  admire  the 
ancient  civilization  and  the  splendid  literature  of  our  Scandinavian 
kinsmen." 

Boston  Transcript. 

"  The  chapters  on  the  mythology  and  cosmogony  of  the  Norsemen, 
on  the  superstitions,  slavery,  graves,  finds,  weapons,  occupations, 
feasts,  etc.,  are  intensely  interesting." 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  Publishers 
J53-J57     FIFTH    AVENUE,   NEW     YORK 


RETURN 

TO  — > 


MARIAN  KOSHLAND  BIOSCIENCE  AND 
NATURAL  RESOURCES  LIBRARY 

2101  Valley  Life  Sciences  Bldg.    642-2531 

ONE  MONTH  LOAN 


ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS. 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW. 


8iOS 


JAN 


FORM  NO.  DD8 
8M    8-04 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
Berkeley,  California  94720-6500 


YC128035 


